EP265 De- Bugging ITU; What to do with a positive blood culture. Journal of the Intensive Care Society

Published Date: 13th August 2019

Publication Authors: Saunders R, Clark S, Tridente A, Stubbington Y

Abstract

Positive blood cultures form a cornerstone in the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis. Falsely positive blood cultures due to contamination pose a significant clinical conundrum for the treating clinician.

We aimed to develop a tool to aid decision making in the process of distinguishing the postive from the false positive blood cultures. The aid also guides the clinician through difficult decisions, including at what point to remove central venous catheters, repeat cultures or treat the source of presumed infection.

In collaboration with the medical microbiology department we produced a Blood Culture Decision Algorithm, integrating knowledge of local microbial pathogens prevalence with evidence from current research, to help inform clinician decisions when faced with a positive blood culture. The alogrithm covers common ITU blood culture pathogens and suggests management plans depending on variables such as the site of culture sample, number of positive cultures, time to positivity, central and peripheral catheters in situ and the clinical picture.

Saunders, R; Clark, S; Tridente, A; Stubbington Y. (2019). EP265 De- Bugging ITU; What to do with a positive blood culture . Journal of the Intensive Care Society. 20 (Suppl 2), 201

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