A multi-pronged approach to improve blood culture diagnostics in different clinical departments: a single-centre...

Blood culture (BC) diagnostics are influenced by many factors. We performed a targeted interdisciplinary analysis to analyse effects of various measures on BC diagnostics performance.

A diagnostic stewardship initiative was conducted at two intervention and two control wards in a German tertiary level hospital. The initiative comprised staff training on the correct indications and sampling for BC, implementation of information cards, labels to identify the collection site, regular BC bottle feedback including the number of bottles, filling volumes and identified pathogens; and the use of a specific sampling device (BD Vacutainer^®). Before and after the interventions, two three-month measurement periods were performed, as well as a one-month follow-up period to assess the sustainability of the conducted measures.

In total, 9362 BC bottles from 787 patients were included in the analysis. The number of BCs obtained from peripheral venous puncture could be increased at both intervention wards (44.0 vs. 22.2%, 58.3 vs. 34.4%), while arterial sampling could be reduced (30.6 vs. 4.9%). A total of 134 staff members were fully trained. The intervention led to a considerable increase in BC knowledge (from 62.4 to 79.8% correct answers) with differences between the individual professional groups. Relevant reduced contamination rates could be detected at both intervention wards.

As knowledge on the correct BC sampling and strategies to reduce contamination varies considerably between clinical departments and healthcare professionals, a targeted training should be adapted to the specific needs of the individual professional groups. An additional filling device is not necessary.