via US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Laboratory analysis of blood cultures is vital to the accurate and timely diagnosis of bloodstream infections. However, the reliability of your testing depends on clinical compliance with collection procedures that limit the risk of inconclusive or incorrect results.
False negative blood culture results due to inadequate blood volumes can result in misdiagnosis, delay therapy, and increase patients鈥� risk of developing or dying from bloodstream infections. Likewise, commonly occurring bacteria or fungi on human skin (i.e., commensal organisms) can increase the risk of false positives, compromising care and leading to unnecessary antibiotic therapy and prolonged hospitalization.
In December 2022, a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) consensus-based organization endorsed a CDC proposal for a new patient safety measure to address these concerns. CDC developed this quality measure to promote blood culture best practices and improve the laboratory diagnosis of bloodstream infections. The webinar will emphasize the importance of standardizing blood culture collection and explain the quality measure development process, new tools, and next steps.