title: Comparison of blood cultures obtained simultaneously by venepuncture and from vascular lines.
abstract: This study was designed to compare blood cultures drawn simultaneously from a pulmonary artery line or arterial line (line) and a peripheral site by venepuncture (VP). Two or three cultures were obtained by VP and from a line during each febrile episode in 79 patients. Line blood cultures were falsely negative in 1.3% of cultures and VP blood cultures were falsely negative in 2.0%. Three point eight per cent of blood cultures drawn from lines were falsely positive (contaminated), and 1.7% of VP cultures were falsely positive. No significant correlation was found between falsely positive line cultures and a positive three-way tap culture, line in use for 4 days or more, insertion of line during an emergency. We recommend that in the critically ill patient an arterial or pulmonary artery line may be used for obtaining reliable cultures.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tafuro
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Colbourn
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gurevich
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schoch
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wachs
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krystofiak
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Cunha
mesh_terms: D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling; D006801:Humans; D014680:Veins