Blood Cultures
Overview
Sepsis due to bacterial bloodstream infection is a medical emergency that requires prompt clinical intervention. Blood cultures can confirm the etiology of infection and help direct appropriate antimicrobial therapy. The utility of blood cultures is highly dependent on specimen collection. For this reason, medical institutions monitor several indicators of appropriate blood culture collection to ensure high-quality specimens are submitted to the diagnostic laboratory. This webinar will review proper blood culture collection techniques and demonstrate how specimen quality can impact patient care.
Presenter
Nick Streck, Ph.D.
Resident | Clinical Microbiology
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota
Learning objectives
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
- Describe the clinical importance of bloodstream infections.
- Define the criteria necessary to recover clinically significant pathogens.
- Recall collection approaches that help reduce blood culture contamination.
- Recognize the importance of the phlebotomist’s role in quality blood culture collection.
Intended audience
This series is appropriate for phlebotomists, phlebotomy managers, phlebotomy educators, and other patient care staff involved in specimen collection.
Questions
Contact us: mcleducation@mayo.edu
