Checklist for taking blood cultures
- The swabs you use must contain chlorhexidine
2% in addition to alcohol
- Wipe the tops of the bottles with swabs then
discard (don't put the needle through the swabs)
- Prepare the site from the centre outwards going in
a spiral; use as many chlorhex/alcohol swabs as you can, let it dry
- Don't change needles; use 1 single needle for the
whole procedure
- Collect a full 20 mL and put 10 mL in each of 2
bottles
- Inoculate blood culture bottles before other blood
tubes
- Never collect just 1 set, always take at least 2
Rationale
- Alcohol alone leads to way too many contaminants
- Sticking the needle through the swabs kills germs
before they reach the bottle
- Working from the centre outwards stops from
dragging germs back in from the outside
- Changing needles means more manipulation, more
contamination, and heaps more needlesticks - just DON'T!
- Less than 10 mL per bottle means less germs and
less chance of a positive
- Collecting 2 sets means (a) better chance of a
positive and (b) MUCH easier to work out contaminants from pathogens
(sometimes this is absolutely critical for patient care)