Bacteremia and Blood Culture Utilization during COVID-19 Surge in New York City
Jorge L. Sepulveda, Lars F. Westblade, Susan Whittier, Michael J. Satlin, William Greendyke, Justin G. Aaron, Jason Zucker, Donald Dietz, Magdalena E. Sobieszczyk, Justin J. Choi, Dakai Liu, Sarah M. Russell, Charles Connelly, Daniel A. Green
Abstract
< 0.001). COVID-19 patients had a high proportion of organisms reflective of commensal skin microbiota, which, when excluded, reduced the bacteremia rate to 1.6%. More than 98% of all positive cultures were detected within 4 days of incubation. Bloodstream infections are very rare for COVID-19 patients, which supports the judicious use of blood cultures in the absence of compelling evidence for bacterial coinfection. Clear communication with ordering providers is necessary to prevent overutilization of blood cultures during patient surges, and laboratories should consider shortening the incubation period from 5 days to 4 days, if necessary, to free additional capacity.