Antimicrobial Removal in Blood Cultures Helps Determine Sepsis Cause

Treatment of blood samples with broad-spectrum antibiotics can impact the ability to detect bacteria in blood samples from potentially septic patients.

A study, led by researchers at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC; Minneapolis, MN, USA), found that the BD BACTEC Plus aerobic medium, a blood culture product from Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD; Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA), had faster time to detection and increased overall bacterial recovery from blood cultures where antimicrobials had been administered to the patient within the 48 hours before blood culture collection, as compared to another commonly used aerobic blood culture medium.

The study was a head-to-head, prospective comparison of two aerobic blood culture media regularly used in the hospital setting to recover organisms that cause this serious and deadly blood infection. The independent study published in the March 15, 2013, online edition of the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases highlights the importance of antimicrobial removal systems in blood culture to rapidly and accurately aid in the diagnosis of sepsis.

The BD BACTEC Blood Culture System is a diagnostic tool for aiding in the detection of bloodstream infections. The BD BACTEC System includes an automated instrument for the growth and detection of organisms present in a patient’s blood sample. It also includes growth media, which neutralizes antimicrobials present in the blood without compromising the nutritional quality of the media. This capability is particularly relevant as most potentially septic patients are already on some form of antibiotic therapy when a blood sample is taken. As a result, the BD BACTEC System provides unmatched recovery of pathogens from blood cultures, and helps to facilitate a physician’s timely decision-making regarding treatment during patient care.

Related Links:
Hennepin County Medical Center
Becton, Dickinson and Company