The value of blood cultures in geriatric practice

Forty-nine of 498 (10%) blood cultures taken in a 14-month period in a geriatric department were positive. These cultures were taken from 295 patients. Respiratory infections, recent onset of confusion, non-specific malaise and suspected sub-acute bacterial endocarditis were the most common clinical indications for the test. Twenty-seven of the 49 positive cultures were considered significant, the remainder being regarded as due to skin contaminants. This yield was found to be of clinical value, particularly in chest infection when the responsible organism often could not be cultured from the sputum.