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Test Code LAB4503 CULTURE, BLOOD

Important Note

BD BACTECTM    Culture vials.

All blood culture vials drawn at Kootenai Health have an antibiotic removal system.

Neonates <1500 grams (3.3 pounds) or <28 weeks gestation should have venipuncture site disinfected with Iodine instead of Chlorhexidine.

3 mL of "waste blood" should be discarded if drawing from a line.

Label vials with: Phlebotomist ID mnemonic, amount of blood put into the vial, venipuncture site, culture set number, and amount of blood in vial.

Specimen Type

Whole blood; BD BACTEC Culture Vials.

Collection Instructions

Clean site with ChloraPrep for 30 seconds. Allow to air dry. ChloraPrep cannot be used on children under 2 months old. Alternate collection: Clean site with 70% alcohol. Allow to dry 1 minute. Apply Iodine in ever widening circles. Allow to dry for 2 minutes. Do not repalpate area with finger. Label aerobic and anaerobic blood culture bottles with patient name, date and time of draw. Clean bottle tops with 70% alcohol. Insert needle into vein and withdraw blood, preferably using the blood culture vacutainer system. If syringe is used, do not change needles before injecting blood into culture bottle. Collect 8-10 ml of blood into each bottle. (For pediatric bottle: Collect 0.5-5 ml) Hold bottles at room temperature pending transport to lab. NOTE: It is recommended to draw 2 sets of bottles as the same time but with different draw sites to help recover pathogens and aid in the interpretation of growth.

Specimen Volume

Adult Blood Culture Draws: 

 

Amount per Venipuncture Amount in Aerobic Vial (blue) Amount in Anaerobic Vial (purple)
20 mL (optimal) Split equally between aerobic and anaerobic vials
15-19 mL (suboptimal) 8-10 mL Remaining volume
10-14 mL (suboptimal) 10 mL None (0 mL)
4-9 mL (suboptimal) Entire blood amount None (0 mL)

 

Pediatric or Extremely Difficult Blood Culture Draws:

BACTEC Plus Vial  (pink)

 

Neonates < 3.3 pounds Draw up to 1 mL into a pediatric bottle
Pediatrics

For volumes <4 mL, transfer blood into a pediatric bottle and use one bottle for each order.

For volumes >4 mL, follow table above. 
Extremely Difficult Adult Draws If only 1- 3 mL is obtained, place all volume into a pediatric bottle. If between 4-10 mL is obtained, place all volume into an aerobic bottle.

 

Minimum Volume

Aerobic/Anaerobic (blue/purple): 
3 mL (optimal 8.0 to 10 mL)


Pediatric vial  (pink):  
0.5 mL (optimal 1.0 to 5.0 mL)

Turnaround Time

Positives are called STAT.

All cultures will be held 5 days. Prelim reports will be released at 24 hours.

Test Schedule

Daily

Sample Stability

Room Temp: 4 hours

Method

Organism Isolation

Reference Ranges

Source Culture, Blood Negative Culture, Blood, Status

Synonyms

Blood Culture, Cx Blood, Blood Cx

Test Components

Source; Culture, Blood; Culture, Blood, Status.

CPT Codes

87040

Notes

It is recommended to draw 2 sets of bottles at the same time but with different draw sites to help recover pathogens and aid in the interpretation of growth. If the same draw site is used for both sets, they should be drawn about 20 minutes apart.