Peripheral vs. Central Blood Cultures in Patients Admitted to a Pediatric Oncology Ward

Utility of peripheral blood cultures in bacteremic pediatric cancer patients with a central line

“…Table 5 illustrates the results of five other studies of concurrent peripheral and CVC cultures in different populations. Only one other study was in the pediatric oncology population [1], and our study was the largest of all six studies. In these six studies, true bloodstream infections were detected only in the peripheral culture in 5.2% to 20.7% of episodes of true bloodstream infections.…”

Performing allogeneic and autologous hematopoietic SCT in the outpatient setting: effects on infectious complications and early transplant outcomes

“…Publication by other investigators at that time supported the practice of culturing blood samples obtained from a central venous catheter was adequate. 27,28 The time to first infection and initiation of i.v. antibiotics was similar in the OP and IP cohorts (Figures 2 and 3), suggesting that there was no delay in the diagnosis and treatment of infection.…”

2002 Guidelines for the Use of Antimicrobial Agents in Neutropenic Patients With Cancer

“…If a central venous access device is in place, some authorities, including the new "IDSA Guidelines for the Management of Intravascular Catheter-Related Infections" [7], recommend that у1 set of blood samples be obtained for culture from the device lumen(s) as well as from a peripheral vein. Other investigators believe that culture only of a blood sample obtained from a central venous catheter is adequate [8,9]. Quantitative blood cultures, although not necessarily recommended routinely for all patients, may be helpful for those suspected of having a catheter-related infection, for whom specimens obtained from a central venous catheter and a peripheral vein should be compared [7,10].…”