“Blood cultures are some of the most important tests for detecting life-threatening bacteremia, which is associated with high mortality rates. Accurate diagnosis from cultured blood samples plays a crucial role in providing appropriate treatment. Contaminated blood cultures thus can result in inappropriate antibiotic use, unnecessarily long hospital stays, increased health care costs, and increased risks of antimicrobial resistance. Several strategies have been proposed to reduce blood culture contamination. A meta-analysis reported two key methods for achieving this: sampling from a separate venipuncture site or collection by a well-trained phlebotomy team. In seriously ill patients, an indwelling arterial catheter is an attractive option for blood culture collection because it allows reliable blood sampling without frequent invasive punctures, accurate microbiological diagnosis with prompt initiation of antimicrobial therapy, and reduced burdens on health care practitioners.”

Ota K. Contamination of Blood Cultures From Indwelling Arterial Catheters in Critically Ill Patients: Alternative Blood Culture Sampling? Chest. 2023 Jul;164(1):11-12. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2023.02.030. PMID: 37423689.