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Comparative Study
. 1998 Jan;36(1):105-9.
doi: 10.1128/JCM.36.1.105-109.1998.

Earlier positivity of central-venous- versus peripheral-blood cultures is highly predictive of catheter-related sepsis

F Blot  1 , E Schmidt, G Nitenberg, C Tancrède, B Leclercq, A Laplanche, A Andremont
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Earlier positivity of central-venous- versus peripheral-blood cultures is highly predictive of catheter-related sepsis

F Blot et al. J Clin Microbiol. 1998 Jan.

Abstract

To diagnose catheter-related sepsis without removing the catheter, we evaluated the differential positivity times of cultures of blood drawn simultaneously from central venous catheter and peripheral sites. In a 450-bed cancer reference center, simultaneous central- and peripheral-blood cultures were prospectively performed for patients with suspicion of catheter-related sepsis over an 18-month period. Data for 64 patients for whom the same microorganisms were found when central- and peripheral-blood samples were cultured were retrospectively reviewed by two independent physicians blinded to the differential positivity time values in order to establish or refute the diagnosis of catheter-related sepsis. The diagnosis was established in 28 cases, refuted in 14, and indeterminate in the remaining 22. The differential positivity time was significantly greater for patients with catheter-related sepsis (P < 10(-4)). A cutoff limit of +120 min had 100% specificity and 96.4% sensitivity for the diagnosis of catheter-related sepsis. These results strongly suggest that measurement of the differential positivity time might be a reliable tool facilitating the diagnosis of catheter-related sepsis in patients with an indwelling catheter.

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Figures

FIG. 1
FIG. 1
Curves showing correlation between dilutions of the initial microbial inoculum (x axis) and the time to positivity (in hours) of the blood culture (y axis) with S. epidermidis, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, and C. albicans. Squares, circles, and triangles represent different strains of the species. The initial inocula were as follows (in CFU per milliliter): S. epidermidis (two strains), 3 × 107 and 3 × 108; S. aureus (two strains), 7 × 108 and 2 × 107; P. aeruginosa (three strains), 8 × 107, 6 × 108, and 8 × 108; and C. albicans (one strain), 8 × 107.
FIG. 2
FIG. 2
DPT of blood cultures for patients with CRS, infections of other origins, or an indeterminate diagnosis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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