Title: Antimicrobial Therapy of Septicemic Patients in Intensive Care Units before and after Blood Culture Reporting
Abstract: 68 cases of positive blood cultures from 54 intensive care unit (ICU) patients were analyzed retrospectively. The empiric antimicrobial therapy was correct in 65% of the cases as judged by the species and sensitivity of the blood culture isolate. After initial Gram-staining results were known, coverage increased to 77%. After the final blood culture results the coverage was still only 81%. The bacteremia-related mortality was 13%. Although there was no significant difference between the occurrence of bacteremia-related and non-bacteremia-related deaths either in patients with correct or non-optimal empiric treatment, this study emphasizes the need for better utilization of culture reporting. A considerable part of the final blood culture results went unnoticed by the ICU physicians which stresses the importance of good communication between the laboratory and wards.
Publication Year: 1991
Publication Date: 1991-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref', 'pubmed']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 25
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot