Catalog ID Cul Bld Routine Blood Culture Routine
CPOE Test Name
Blood Culture or Culture Blood, note Site(s) 1-4
Synonyms
BLD, Routine Blood Culture, BacT/Alert Virtuo Culture
Specimen Type
Blood
Specimen Requirements
Adult: Two sets each with FAN PLUS aerobic and FN PLUS anaerobic culture bottles.
Pediatric: One to two sets, each with pediatric FAN PLUS aerobic culture bottle. Use anaerobe bottle in addition if pneumococcus or anaerobes suspected.
Storage and Transport
Ambient temperature and transport to Microbiology Laboratory within 1 hour of collection.
Causes for Rejection
Delay in transport; improper labeling; broken bottle; under or over-filled bottles
Reference Range
No growth after 5 days.
Critical Values
Any positive culture
Interpretation
Caution must be used in interpreting the significance of common contaminating organisms – coagulase-negative staphylococci, coryneforms (diphtheroids), viridans streptococci, anaerobic cocci.
Test Consists
Aerobic and anaerobic culture of blood.
Turn Around Time
Preliminary report at 24 hours. Final negative results at 5 days.
Performing Lab
Microbiology BA-1672 721-2807
Methodology
BacT/Alert blood culture with automated monitoring for growth, subculture of positive bottles.
CPT / HCPCS Code
Culture 87040; MIC 87186; Yeast ID 87106
Special Instructions
Note the precise collection time, site and collector. Use care in matching bottles into sets to ensure that the set consists only of bottles from a single site.
Patient labels MUST NOT cover the large black box on the bottle label. Correct labeling is imperative for operation of blood culture instrument.