Education of phlebotomy teams improves blood volume in blood culture bottles.

The volume of blood sampled for blood culture determines its sensitivity. We measured low mean blood volumes in submitted aerobic (8.38 ± 3.88 ml) and anaerobic (7.16 ± 3.83 ml) blood culture bottles. Educational seminars were held for phlebotomy teams, and renewed measurements thereafter revealed significantly higher blood volumes in submitted aerobic (9.77 ± 4.42 ml) and anaerobic (8.30 ± 3.64 ml) bottles. Education of phlebotomy teams improves the blood volume in blood culture bottles and should be part of quality control procedures.