UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital Clinical Laboratory - Microbiology: 720-848-7084
See Lippincott Procedure "Blood Culture Sample Collection" and Blood Culture Job Aid for phlebotomy instructions.
| Patient Weight | Blood Culture Bottle |
| ≤ 17 kg | Pediatric Bottle |
| > 17 kg | Standard Aerobic/Anaerobic Bottles |
| Blood Culture Media | Description | Optimal Volume | Minimum Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aerobic Bottle | Grey Cap/ Blue Label | 8-10 ml | 5 ml |
| Anaerobic Bottle | Purple Cap/ Purple Label | 8-10 ml | 5 ml (if less, put all blood in aerobic bottle) |
| Blood Culture Media | Description | Optimal Volume | Minimum Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric Bottle | Pink Cap/ Pink Label | 0.5-3 ml | 0.5 ml |
Internal: Deliver to lab immediately at ambient temperature.
Offsite: Transport to the laboratory as soon as possible. DO NOT refrigerate. Transportation time must not exceed 16 hours.
Daily
Ambient: Transport to laboratory as soon as possible, and not to exceed 16 hours, to achieve best results
Refrigerated: Unacceptable
Frozen: Unacceptable.
Routine blood cultures detect aerobic and anaerobic bacteria as well as fungus (yeast). Single sets should only be used to document a continuous bacteremia after the initial sets have become positive. Blood cultures should be obtained by venipuncture unless otherwise ordered by the provider. Quantitative blood cultures drawn in heparin tubes are important to assess bacteremia that may be caused by an infected line.
Place labels which include the patient's full name and medical record number on each bottle and on the heparin tube. DO NOT COVER THE BAR CODE LABELS ON THE BOTTLES. Write on the label: 1) Site of blood draw; 2) Actual time of blood draw; 3) Date; and 4) Your initials.
Gram stain, identification, and susceptibility tests are billed separately from the culture.
Daily
Nonradiometric, continuous monitor instrument, Bactec.
Organism(s) recovered in culture may be identified by MALDI-TOF. Identification by MALDI-TOF was developed and its performance characteristics determined by the University of Colorado Hospital Authority. It has not been cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The laboratory is regulated under CLIA as qualified to perform high-complexity testing. This test is used for clinical purposes. It should not be regarded as investigational or for research.
Bottles are read every 10 minutes by the instrument. Positive specimens are reported immediately to the provider. Negative cultures are reported after 7 days.
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| Collection |
UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital Clinical Laboratory - Microbiology: 720-848-7084
See Lippincott Procedure "Blood Culture Sample Collection" and Blood Culture Job Aid for phlebotomy instructions.
| Patient Weight | Blood Culture Bottle |
| ≤ 17 kg | Pediatric Bottle |
| > 17 kg | Standard Aerobic/Anaerobic Bottles |
| Blood Culture Media | Description | Optimal Volume | Minimum Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aerobic Bottle | Grey Cap/ Blue Label | 8-10 ml | 5 ml |
| Anaerobic Bottle | Purple Cap/ Purple Label | 8-10 ml | 5 ml (if less, put all blood in aerobic bottle) |
| Blood Culture Media | Description | Optimal Volume | Minimum Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric Bottle | Pink Cap/ Pink Label | 0.5-3 ml | 0.5 ml |
Internal: Deliver to lab immediately at ambient temperature.
Offsite: Transport to the laboratory as soon as possible. DO NOT refrigerate. Transportation time must not exceed 16 hours.
Daily
Ambient: Transport to laboratory as soon as possible, and not to exceed 16 hours, to achieve best results
Refrigerated: Unacceptable
Frozen: Unacceptable.
Routine blood cultures detect aerobic and anaerobic bacteria as well as fungus (yeast). Single sets should only be used to document a continuous bacteremia after the initial sets have become positive. Blood cultures should be obtained by venipuncture unless otherwise ordered by the provider. Quantitative blood cultures drawn in heparin tubes are important to assess bacteremia that may be caused by an infected line.
Place labels which include the patient's full name and medical record number on each bottle and on the heparin tube. DO NOT COVER THE BAR CODE LABELS ON THE BOTTLES. Write on the label: 1) Site of blood draw; 2) Actual time of blood draw; 3) Date; and 4) Your initials.
Gram stain, identification, and susceptibility tests are billed separately from the culture.
| Ordering |
Daily
Nonradiometric, continuous monitor instrument, Bactec.
Organism(s) recovered in culture may be identified by MALDI-TOF. Identification by MALDI-TOF was developed and its performance characteristics determined by the University of Colorado Hospital Authority. It has not been cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The laboratory is regulated under CLIA as qualified to perform high-complexity testing. This test is used for clinical purposes. It should not be regarded as investigational or for research.
Bottles are read every 10 minutes by the instrument. Positive specimens are reported immediately to the provider. Negative cultures are reported after 7 days.
| Result Interpretation |
| Administrative |
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