Abstract
Blood culture contamination (BCC) is a significant problem in the emergency department (ED) setting. False positive blood culture results are associated with unnecessary treatment and increased costs. Many patients with false positive cultures receive empiric broad-spectrum antibiotics, putting them at risk for complications such as Clostridium difficile and acute kidney injury, as well as further diagnostic workup. Additional treatment results in longer hospital stays and increased risk of hospital-acquired infections including multi-drug-resistant organisms (MDROs). In an effort to reduce the number of false positive blood cultures in our ED, we initiated a trial of a novel device for blood sample collection. The Initial Specimen Diversion Device (ISDD)(Steripath, Magnolia Medical Technologies) has been shown to reduce contamination by diverting and isolating the initial 1.5-2.0 mL of blood(most likely to contain skin fragments and bacteria) from the remaining sample. Our ED implemented this device into our regular blood culture protocol and tracked the results, with the goal of reducing our BCC rate to below 1.5%.
Sigma Membership
Non-member
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
N/A
Research Approach
N/A
Keywords:
Quality Care, Intravenous, Blood Culture Contaminations
Recommended Citation
Bauman, Kara, "Don't stick me again! Reducing blood culture contaminations" (2020). General Submissions: Presenations (Oral and Poster). 101.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/gen_sub_presentations/2019/posters/101
Conference Name
Emergency Nursing 2019
Conference Host
Emergency Nurses Association
Conference Location
Austin, Texas, USA
Conference Year
2019
Rights Holder
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Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Don't stick me again! Reducing blood culture contaminations
Austin, Texas, USA
Blood culture contamination (BCC) is a significant problem in the emergency department (ED) setting. False positive blood culture results are associated with unnecessary treatment and increased costs. Many patients with false positive cultures receive empiric broad-spectrum antibiotics, putting them at risk for complications such as Clostridium difficile and acute kidney injury, as well as further diagnostic workup. Additional treatment results in longer hospital stays and increased risk of hospital-acquired infections including multi-drug-resistant organisms (MDROs). In an effort to reduce the number of false positive blood cultures in our ED, we initiated a trial of a novel device for blood sample collection. The Initial Specimen Diversion Device (ISDD)(Steripath, Magnolia Medical Technologies) has been shown to reduce contamination by diverting and isolating the initial 1.5-2.0 mL of blood(most likely to contain skin fragments and bacteria) from the remaining sample. Our ED implemented this device into our regular blood culture protocol and tracked the results, with the goal of reducing our BCC rate to below 1.5%.