Specimen Type

One blood culture order is either:

• Bactec Plus Aerobic/F (Blue lid)
• Bactec Standard Anaerobic/F (Purple lid)

Or

• Bactec Peds Plus/F (Silver lid)

Volume

Children (Age ≤ 10)  - draw total blood volume ≤ 3 ml

Adults (Age ≥ 11) - draw total blood volume 13-17 ml, in addition to other tests ordered

Inoculate blood culture bottles as follows:

Total draw ≤ 3 ml

• Entire volume in Peds bottle (silver lid), regardless of age

Total draw 3-9 ml

• Entire volume in Plus aerobic bottle (Blue lid)

Total draw ≥ 10 ml

• ½ total volume in Plus aerobic bottle (Blue lid)
• ½ total volume in Standard anaerobic bottle (Purple lid)

Do not incubate prior to transport.

Quantity

Optimal number and frequency of blood cultures will depend on the suspected disease, and can only be determined by the attending physician. The following recommendations are guidelines that can be followed in most situations:

• Severe life-threatening clinical septicemia: Two 13-17 ml samples taken by separate venipuncture should be collected immediately before starting treatment.
• Suspected SBE or low-grade intravascular infection: Three 13-17 ml samples taken by seperate venipuncture within the first 24 hours, spaced no closer than one hour. Two of these should be collected at the earliest sign of a febrile episode.
• Suspected bacteremia of unknown origin in patients already on therapy: If therapy cannot be suspended for a few days, 4 to 6 culture should be drawn within the first 48 hours. If the patient is receiving intermittent parenteral therapy, cultures should be taken immediately before the next dose of antimicrobial agent.
• Small children: Volume drawn should be determined by the physician. In the case of infants, 1-2 ml samples are usually collected and sufficient for diagnosing sepsis of the newborn.