Impact of Laboratory Analytical Indicators on Positive Blood Culture Detection Rates: A Single Center Study

Area of Science:

• Clinical Microbiology
• Laboratory Medicine
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Blood culture is the gold standard for diagnosing bloodstream infections.
• Ensuring quality in blood culture processes is crucial for accurate results.
• Laboratory analytical indicators can influence the effectiveness of blood cultures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine laboratory analytical indicators associated with positive blood culture results.
• To identify factors affecting the positive detection rate and time-to-detection in blood cultures.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of blood cultures from Peking Union Medical College Hospital (2020-2022).
• Comparison of transportation modes, patient sources, personnel rotation, and reception times.
• Statistical analysis to determine the impact of these factors on blood culture results.

Main Results:

• Overall blood culture positive rate was 8.07%.
• Outpatient/emergency department cultures had a significantly higher positive rate (12.46%) than inpatient cultures (5.83%).
• Delivery mode, personnel rotation, and pre-analytical time (<1 hour) significantly affected detection rates and time.

Conclusions:

• Patient source, transportation mode, and personnel rotation are significant laboratory analytical indicators impacting blood culture diagnostics.
• Optimizing these factors can improve the accuracy and efficiency of bloodstream infection detection.