Blood Culture, Routine

Also known as: Culture, Blood, Routine

Clinical Use

Order Test

Use

Isolate and identify potentially pathogenic organisms causing bacteremia; establish the diagnosis of endocarditis

Special Instructions

Not provided.

Limitations

Blood cultures may yield negative results in the absence of antimicrobial therapy. Prior antibiotic treatment can cause negative cultures or delayed growth. Special cultures are required for specific organisms like Brucella and fungi if suspected. Negative cultures do not rule out bacteremia due to false negatives when pathogens fail to grow. Positive cultures can sometimes be false positives due to contaminants. Organisms from skin flora such as coagulase-negative Staphylococcus present diagnostic dilemmas, often requiring careful clinical correlation and multiple culture sets for confirmation.

Test Details

Methodology

Culture-based

Biomarkers

LOINC Codes

Order Codes

600-7 - Bacteria Bld Cult

Result Codes

600-7 - Bacteria Bld Cult

Result Turnaround Time

5-6 days

Specimen

Whole Blood

Volume

Adult: 16 to 20 mL total; 8 to 10 mL per aerobic and anaerobic bottle. Pediatric: up to 4 mL in one pediatric bottle.

Minimum Volume

Not provided

Container

One aerobic and one anaerobic blood culture bottle for adults or one pediatric bottle. Do not vent.

Collection Instructions

Use the provided blood culture collection kits. Follow the procedural chart in the kit for bottle preparation, venipuncture, and inoculation. Draw cultures before antimicrobial therapy, with strict aseptic technique. If multiple cultures are required, draw separately at no less than 30-minute intervals.

Patient Preparation

Ensure potential skin contamination is minimized by proper skin preparation using isopropanol and antiseptic swabsticks. Do not touch the prepared site after disinfection.