Value of anaerobic blood cultures in pediatrics

The aim of the study presented here was to evaluate the utility of anaerobically incubated blood cultures for detecting infections in pediatric patients. During a 2-year period 9,165 pediatric blood samples were processed, and significant microorganisms were recovered from 497 (5.4%) of them. Only two of the microorganisms isolated were strictly anaerobic. Of the total isolates, 13% were detected in anaerobic bottles solely. Considering that the quantity of blood available from pediatric patients for blood cultures is usually small, it may be reasonable to limit the use of anaerobic blood cultures to patients with the highest risk.