Blood culture, routine (Calgary/South)
- Test Name:
- Blood culture, routine (Calgary/South)
- Organism(s)/Disease(s):
-
Bacteremia
Bacterial
Bloodstream infection
Endocarditis (infective)
Sepsis
Septicaemia/septicemia
Typhoid/Paratyphoid fever
Yeast, Candidemia
- Preferred Body Source(s):
-
Blood, venipuncture.
- Body Source(s):
-
Blood, arterial
Blood, central line
Blood, ECMO
Blood, peripheral
Blood, umbilical cord
-
Clinical Prerequisite(s):
-
Technique of choice: Venipuncture
- Requisition/Forms:
-
Always record the following on the requisition:
• collection site
• antibiotic therapy, dose, route, and start date
• clinical history and suspected diagnosis. Specify if:
• endocarditis is suspected
• Brucellosis, tularemia or other fastidious organisms are suspected
- Collection Device/Tube Type:
-
Biomerieux BacT/ALERT blood culture vial
- Comments:
-
- Collection Instructions:
-
Blood Culture Collection Guideline (PX26-02.110)
- Handling and Storage:
-
*Store at Room Temperature
DO NOT incubate
DO NOT refrigerate
- Handling/Storage Comments:
-
Transport to the testing laboratory as soon as possible - within 4 hours of collection if collected in:
• Calgary
• Edmonton
• hospitals with a Microbiology lab
Blood culture specimens from other collection locations must be received at the testing lab within 24 hours of collection.
- Transport Temperature:
-
Room temperature
- Rejection Criteria:
-
Specimens will be rejected if the sample(s) or the requisition(s) are mislabelled or unlabelled
DO NOT use contaminated bottles; before use, check for signs of contamination:
• bottle media appears cloudy
• bulging or indented septums or there is gas
• bottom of the Biomerieux BacT/ALERT bottle is bright yellow
DO NOT use damaged bottles. Check for:
• cracked or distended bottles
• bottles that have lost their caps
• a star-like crack-pattern on the bottom of the bottle - indicates impact that compromised the container
DO NOT use bottles past the expiry date. Results may not be reliable
- Turnaround Times
- See Microbiology Information»
- Comments:
-
Blood cultures are monitored continuously for 5 days. Positive results are reported when growth is detected> Preliminary negative results are reported after 48 hours and final, negative results after 5 days.
Blood cultures submitted for bacterial culture are only held for 5 days. This applies to both non-endocarditis and suspect-endocarditis cases. Prolonged incubation (beyond 5 days) of blood cultures in standard, automated blood culture instruments does not improve the yield of clinically significant microorganisms (bacteria/yeast)
- Last Reviewed:
- 31 March 2025
