Assessing a standardized decision-making algorithm for blood culture collection in the intensive care unit
Authors' conclusion
In a cohort of critically-ill patients, inappropriate blood cultures were common.
Study context
- Population
- Critically ill ICU patients at Montefiore Medical Center300 randomly selected from 3370
- Participants
- 294 patients
- Outcome
- Prevalence of inappropriate blood cultures per an evidence-based guidance algorithm
Methodological detailssingle-centre, random sample
- Single-centre
- Random sample
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Inappropriate blood cultures
Patients with ≥1 blood culture drawn
167
Patients with ≥1 inappropriate blood culture
125
Blood cultures drawn assessed as inappropriate
61.4%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Reasons for inappropriate cultures
- Most common reason: culture drawn for isolated fever or leukocytosis
Original publication
Assessing a standardized decision-making algorithm for blood culture collection in the intensive care unit. J Crit Care. Published 10 February 2023. doi:10.
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