title: Timing of specimen collection for blood cultures from febrile patients with bacteremia.
abstract: Bloodstream infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Physician orders for blood cultures often specify that blood specimens be collected at or around the time of a temperature elevation, presumably as a means of enhancing the likelihood of detecting significant bacteremia. In a multicenter study, which utilized retrospective patient chart reviews as a means of collecting data, we evaluated the timing of blood culture collection in relation to temperature elevations in 1,436 patients with bacteremia and fungemia. The likelihood of documenting bloodstream infections was not significantly enhanced by collecting blood specimens for culture at the time that patients experienced temperature spikes. A subset analysis based on patient age, gender, white blood cell count and specific cause of bacteremia generally also failed to reveal any associations.
authors.affiliation: University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Department of Pathology-Division of Microbiology, 200 Hawkins Drive, C 606 GH, Iowa City, IA 52242-1009, USA.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Riedel
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bourbeau
authors.forename: Brandi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Swartz
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brecher
authors.forename: Karen C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Carroll
authors.forename: Paul D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Stamper
authors.forename: W Michael
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Dunne
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: McCardle
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Walk
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fiebelkorn
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sewell
authors.forename: Sandra S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beekmann
authors.forename: Gary V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Doern
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000379:methods*; D003470:Culture Media; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media