BACTERIAL BLOOD CULTURE

General Information

Performed: Daily

Turn Around Time: Preliminary results are reported at 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, and finalized on the 5th day if negative.

CPT Codes: 87040

Performed By: Microbiology Lab

Notes:

A blood culture set is one vial or pair of vials collected from a single venipuncture. 2-3 blood culture sets are usually sufficient for diagnosis. The single most important variable in detecting bacteremia is the volume of blood collected for each blood culture. 20 mL of blood per culture (10 mL per vial) is optimal for adults. For pediatric patients, volume of blood cultured should not exceed 1% of patient's total blood volume.

A reflex test for MRSA/SA Blood culture PCR will be performed on positive blood cultures on adult aerobic bottles, if the gram stain indicates gram positive cocci in clusters (GPCC) or gram positive cocci in singles (GPC).

If a patient has a positive MRSA/SA blood culture assay result (MRSA+ or SA+), no more MRSA/SA blood culture PCR assays will be performed on that patient for the next 3 days.

Clinical Utility: Test of cure blood cultures are advisable for patients with infective endocarditis and for patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia not related to infective endocarditis.

Components

Specimen Requirements