P-1596. Identifying Candidates for Blood Culture among Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: a Multicenter Study in South Korea

Abstract Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, distinguishing bloodstream infections (BSI) from viral illness was challenging, often leading to excessive culture use and increased diagnostic burden in referral hospitals. We aimed to identify clinical predictors of BSI in hospitalized COVID-19 patients to guide targeted diagnostics and optimize resource allocation.Figure 1.Temporal trends in COVID-19 cases, blood culture testing, and BSI during the pandemic in South Korea.(A) Monthly number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Korea from January 2020 to August 2023, with major outbreak periods (Delta and Omicron) indicated. The inset shows the early pandemic phase.(B) Monthly number of patients who underwent blood culture within 14 days of COVID-19 diagnosis (green), and those with non-contaminant bloodstream infections (red). Both blood culture utilization and BSI detection increased during outbreak peaks, reflecting the diagnostic burden associated with pandemic surges.Figure 2.Kaplan–Meier survival analysis by blood culture result within 15 days of COVID-19 diagnosisKaplan–Meier curves comparing 15-day survival between patients with non-contaminant bloodstream infection (red) and those with negative or contaminated cultures (blue) following COVID-19 diagnosis. Survival was significantly lower in the BSI group (P