[Blood culture utilization and its indications in emergency departments; time for change?]

Résumé fourni par la source

OBJECTIVE: To gain insight into the blood culture (BC) utilization in emergency departments (EDs) and to identify differences in the indications for BC collection. DESIGN: Retrospective study METHOD: Data were collected in 11 EDs for 2018, 2019, and 2020. Indications for blood culture collection were identified in from the hospital protocols. Participants indicated which indications are used in their ED. RESULTS: In 2019, ten EDs collected BC from 19% to 30% of all patients for internal medicine and geriatrics. Both the used indications and the cutoff values varied. For fever, >38.0°C, >38.3°C, or >38.5°C were used, and for hypothermia <36.0°C or <35.0°C. CONCLUSION: There is a variation in the percentage of collected BC in the EDs. Additionally, the used indications and the cutoff values differed. A national discussion on criteria is needed to reduce this variation. Meanwhile, structured benchmarking can make BC collection more appropriate.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.