Challenges in Sepsis: Diagnostics and Patient Management

An estimated 49 million cases of sepsis occur globally each year with approximately 11 million deaths.¹ Diagnostic tests, including cultures of the urinary tract, respiratory tract, and blood, are critical for guiding appropriate antibiotic therapy. This is particularly true for infections acquired in the hospital because many are caused by antimicrobial resistant bacteria. The success of blood cultures is dependent on collection of uncontaminated specimens, culture of a large volume of blood, and inoculation of multiple media types to maximize the recovery of most bloodstream pathogens. This lecture will review specific guidelines for specimen collection, selection of blood culture media, and the relationship between the volume of blood cultured and percent positive blood cultures, including the impact of prior exposure to antibiotics.

 

 

1. Source: Sepsis Alliance Fact Sheet.

 

 

Learning Objectives