Blood culture indications in critically ill neonates: a multicenter prospective cohort study

Abstract

Center heterogeneity in sampling practice is substantial. Optimizing sampling practice can be recommended. What is Known: • Blood culture test is a common diagnostic procedure in critically-ill newborns. • A low threshold for sampling and antimicrobial therapy initiation is accepted. What is New: • Variability in blood culture practice was assessed between 3 neonatal intensive care units by the registration of sampling frequencies, clinical indications, and antimicrobial therapy initiation.

Infectious aetiologies of neonatal illness in south Asia classified using WHO definitions: a primary analysis of the ANISA study

“…Research suggests that biomarkers (such as C-reactive protein and certain toll-like receptors 28 ), and new metagenomic sequencing to rapidly identify pathogens from normally sterile fluids, could help to diagnose infection. New neonatal sepsis predictive algorithm tools have also been developed, 29 , 30 , 31 but it is unlikely that physicians would have this information or technology available in low-resource public health settings.…”

Hospital-Onset Bacteremia Among Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Patients

“…Bacteremia is associated with increased mortality among both term and preterm infants. 1,7,10,26 We estimated a 5.5% absolute difference in attributable mortality among infants with and without HOB. We used an emulated trial to estimate the HOB-attributable mortality among all infants admitted to a NICU, adjusting for gestational age, birth weight, central line exposure, postnatal age, small for gestational age, and site acuity.…”

“…loodstream infections are a leading cause of death among infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). 1,2 Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collects and reports rates of central lineassociated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), which are potentially preventable events, as a strategy to drive performance improvement and reduce preventable harm. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) mandate hospital CLABSI reporting, which has facilitated bloodstream infection surveillance; however, CLABSI adjudication is resource intensive and represents only a proportion of neonatal bloodstream infections.…”

Blood culture quality and turnaround time of clinical microbiology laboratories in Chinese Teaching Hospitals: A multicenter study

“…The delay between obtaining BC specimens and definitive BC results should be minimized to facilitate the appropriate antimicrobial therapy 3 . However, several factors, such as blood volume, technical difficulties in specimen collection, previous use of antibiotics, and contamination can interfere with optimal results 4–7 . KPIs are essential tools for accuracy and patient safety, 8 and they aid in monitoring and evaluating laboratory performance throughout the pre‐analytical, 9,10 analytical, and post‐analytical phases 11 .…”

“… 3 However, several factors, such as blood volume, technical difficulties in specimen collection, previous use of antibiotics, and contamination can interfere with optimal results. 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 KPIs are essential tools for accuracy and patient safety, 8 and they aid in monitoring and evaluating laboratory performance throughout the pre‐analytical, 9 , 10 analytical, and post‐analytical phases. 11 Identification of the causative microorganisms present in the blood allows for the timely diagnosis of bloodstream infections and optimization of antibiotic therapy.…”