Can diagnostic stewardship reduce the harms of blood culture contamination?
Abstract
Blood culture contamination (BCC) leads to increased costs and patient harms. We reviewed 525 BCC cases and found 71.2% of BCC cases were ordered for indications with low risk for bacteremia and most received unnecessary tests and antibiotics. Diagnostic stewardship of blood cultures may reduce BCC and its associated costs.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Bacterial Identification and Susceptibility Testing
Neonatal and Maternal Infections
Sepsis Diagnosis and Treatment
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 322–324
- Publication date
- 19 January 2026
- Language
- EN