Category Archives: Module – Blood cultures
Blood culture liaison process – advice by organism type- Gram positives
SECOND CLINICIAN CALL: Confirmed culture identification with susceptibility available Prior to calling, check the isolate antibiogram to see that species and susceptibility are consistent – see EUCAST Expert rules which provide intrinsic resistance characters by species, including unusual phenotypes. If … Continue reading
Posted in Module - Blood cultures, Pathology, Quality management
Tagged Blood cultures
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Example template for documenting significant bloodstream infections
Suggested format for documenting significant BSI for later analyses. Sub documents with key definitions will be provided soon. Print this sheet onto a single A4 page and maintain a records folder. Include documentation of the clinical liaison process as below. … Continue reading
Posted in Module - Blood cultures, Quality management, Statistics
Tagged Blood cultures
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Positive blood culture clinician liaison process (microbiology) part 1
Documentation! Always note down all clinician discussions in a large personal diary or preferably on the electronic pathology record for the patient’s sample if this exists. Categorise and record the clinical relevance of the positive culture – a standard template to be … Continue reading
ISBAR – an essential process for improving clinical handover and liaison by pathology services
Structured conversations between clinicians or between pathologists and clinicians are a good idea – poor communication risks patient safety and contributes to adverse outcomes. The ISBAR framework enables clear, focused and information relevant clinical communications. Photo – blue ‘ISBAR’ species of chicken!
Blood cultures – recommended readings
Blood cultures overview- question guide to key issues 2015 Technical discussion by Chris Ashhurst-Smith, Senior Bacteriologist from Newcastle Registrars BCs CAS OCT 2015 Presentation Dr J Ferguson, Blood cultures 2013 Ferguson Blood culture sampling guide (Clinical Excellence Commission , Australia) with FAQ … Continue reading
Maximising the value of blood cultures
Originally posted on AIMED – Let's talk about antibiotics:
Blood cultures give a critically important window on bacterial and fungal sepsis, providing direct patient treatment guidance and reliable antimicrobial susceptibility data that are used to construct cumulative antibiograms and empirical treatment guidelines.…
