title: Comparison of blood cultures with corresponding venipuncture site cultures of specimens from hospitalized premature neonates.
abstract: We compared the presence and identities of isolates from blood culture samples obtained by percutaneous venipuncture with those of commensal skin organisms cultured from respective venipuncture sites after skin cleansing; 677 blood and skin site culture pairs from 488 infants were compared. Organisms grew in 58 blood cultures; nine of these cultures had corresponding venipuncture site cultures that also grew organisms. Forty-two blood culture isolates were coagulase-negative staphylococci; five of these were associated with similar venipuncture site cultures. According to restriction-endonuclease fingerprinting of chromosomal DNA and plasmid analysis, three pairs of blood and venipuncture site cultures were identical and two pairs were different. Thus only 7% (3/42) of coagulase-negative staphylococcal blood isolates were associated with identical contamination at the venipuncture site. We conclude that, if the venipuncture site has been carefully cleansed, the growth of coagulase-negative staphylococci in blood cultures of specimens from premature neonates indicates bacteremia rather than skin contamination in the vast majority of cases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, St. Joseph's Health Centre, London, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hammerberg
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bialkowska-Hobrzanska
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gregson
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Potters
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gopaul
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reid
mesh_terms: D016470:Bacteremia / Q000382:microbiology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection; D001815:Bloodletting; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000382:microbiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012867:Skin / Q000382:microbiology*; D013048:Specimen Handling; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification