Published: 14 June 2022
Author(s): Sarah Dräger, Céline Giehl, Kirstine Kobberøe Søgaard, Adrian Egli, Mirjam de Roche, Lars C. Huber, Michael Osthoff
Section: Original article

As bloodstream infections (BSI) are associated with a mortality of 14% and up to 35% in critically ill patients, physicians often have a low threshold to collect blood cultures (BC) [1–3]. But overall, the yield of BCs is low (4–10%) [4,5] and contaminants (e.g. skin flora) may be identified in up to 40% of positive BCs [6]. Decision making around BC collection is multifactorial and influenced by the provider's role, the provider's clinical experience, the comorbidities of the patient and the severity of the infection [7].

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