Blood Culture Use in Medical and Surgical Intensive Care Units and Wards
Authors' conclusion
The findings of this study suggest that blood culture positivity may help determine appropriate BC use for individual unit types.
Study context
- Population
- Adult medical and medical-surgical intensive care units (ICUs) and wards of acute care hospitals in the 4 US geographic regions, September 2019–August 2021
- Participants
- 362,327 blood cultures
- Exposure
- Blood culture (BC) use across medical ICUs, medical-surgical ICUs, medical wards and medical-surgical wards
- Medical ICUsn = 27
- Medical-surgical ICUsn = 35
- Medical wardsn = 121
- Medical-surgical wardsn = 109
- Outcome
- BC use per 1000 patient-days (adjusted mean)
Methodological detailsmulticentre, mixed-effects negative binomial regression, Data analyzed from February 23 to July 14, 2024
- Multicentre
- Mixed-effects negative binomial regression
- Data analyzed from February 23 to July 14, 2024
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Adjusted mean BC use per 1000 patient-days
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Secondary outcomes
| Outcome | Medical ICUs | Medical-surgical ICUs | Medical-surgical wards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum BC use threshold (below may represent undertesting), BCs per 1000 patient-days | 120 BCs per 1000 patient-days | 80 BCs per 1000 patient-days | 30 BCs per 1000 patient-days |
BC use by hospital size and region
- Significantly higher across all 4 unit types in hospitals with >500 vs ≤500 beds and in the West-Midwest vs other regions
Single BC and positive BC rates
- Below 10% across all 4 unit types
BC contamination
- Units (of 292) with mean contamination rate within 3% of recommended threshold
- 97%
- Units within 1% of recommended threshold
- 51%
Original publication
Blood Culture Use in Medical and Surgical Intensive Care Units and Wards. JAMA Netw Open. Published 2 January 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →