Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2011 Apr;31(2):101-6.
doi: 10.3343/kjlm.2011.31.2.101.

Comprehensive analysis of blood culture performed at nine university hospitals in Korea

Jeong Hwan Shin  1 , Sae Am Song, Mi-Na Kim, Nam Yong Lee, Eui-Chong Kim, Sunjoo Kim, Sun-Hoi Koo, Nam Hee Ryoo, Jae-Seok Kim, Ji-Hyun Cho
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Comprehensive analysis of blood culture performed at nine university hospitals in Korea

Jeong Hwan Shin et al. Korean J Lab Med. 2011 Apr.

Abstract

Background: Optimal blood culture performance is critical for successful diagnosis and treatment of sepsis. To understand the status of blood culture, we investigated several aspects of the procedure at 9 university hospitals.

Methods: The process of ordering blood culture sets and sampling volume for adults and children was investigated from January 2010 to April 2010, while the positive rate of detection and growth of skin contaminants were compared in 2009. Microbial growth in aerobic and anaerobic bottles was investigated prospectively.

Results: A majority of the hospitals used 2 sets of bottles for adults and 1 bottle for children. The average blood volume in each set was 7.7 mL for adults and 2.1 mL for children. The positive rate of microorganisms was 8.0%, and the isolation rate of the normal flora of the skin was 2.1%. Bacterial growth rates in aerobic and anaerobic bottles only were 31.8% and 24.5% respectively.

Conclusions: Ordering blood culture sets and sampling volumes did not comply with CLSI guidelines. However, the rate of positive cultures and skin contamination rates were acceptable. Anaerobic bottles are useful in enhancing the yield of microorganisms.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

References

    1. Reimer LG, Wilson ML, Weinstein MP. Update on detection of bacteremia and fungemia. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1997;10:444–465. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Martin GS, Mannino DM, Eaton S, Moss M. The epidemiology of sepsis in the United States from 1979 through 2000. N Engl J Med. 2003;348:1546–1554. - PubMed
    1. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. Principles and procedures for blood cultures: approved guideline. M47-A. Wayne, PA: Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute; 2007.
    1. Hall KK, Lyman JA. Updated review of blood culture contamination. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2006;19:788–802. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ilstrup DM, Washington JA., 2nd The importance of volume of blood cultured in the detection of bacteremia and fungemia. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 1983;1:107–110. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources