M L Wilson1. 1. Department of Pathology & Laboratory Services, Denver Health, Denver, CO, USA; Department of Pathology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA. Electronic address: Michael.wilson@dhha.org.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The critical factors for optimal recovery of microbial pathogens from blood are not only the basis for how we perform blood cultures on a daily basis, but are also important for development of all current blood-culture systems. Because much of this research was conducted and published between 1975 and 2010 there is a general sense that many physicians and scientists may not be familiar with it, but it is critical for performing and interpreting blood cultures. OBJECTIVES: To review the critical factors in the laboratory recovery and isolation of pathogenic microorganisms in blood. SOURCES: Literature review of published papers, select reviews and updated guidelines. CONTENT: This review focuses on the critical factors that affect the recovery isolation of pathogenic microorganisms from individuals with bloodstream infections. Contemporary blood-culture systems, and current methods for blood-culture collection, have been designed to incorporate these critical factors so as to optimize recovery and isolation of pathogens while minimizing contamination. IMPLICATIONS: It is important for microbiologists and practitioners to understand how and why these critical factors affect current blood-culture practices to improve patient management. Future research should emphasize which of these critical factors will still play a role in the era of molecular diagnostic tests, which will no longer be relevant, and which new critical factors have yet to be defined.
BACKGROUND: The critical factors for optimal recovery of microbial pathogens from blood are not only the basis for how we perform blood cultures on a daily basis, but are also important for development of all current blood-culture systems. Because much of this research was conducted and published between 1975 and 2010 there is a general sense that many physicians and scientists may not be familiar with it, but it is critical for performing and interpreting blood cultures. OBJECTIVES: To review the critical factors in the laboratory recovery and isolation of pathogenic microorganisms in blood. SOURCES: Literature review of published papers, select reviews and updated guidelines. CONTENT: This review focuses on the critical factors that affect the recovery isolation of pathogenic microorganisms from individuals with bloodstream infections. Contemporary blood-culture systems, and current methods for blood-culture collection, have been designed to incorporate these critical factors so as to optimize recovery and isolation of pathogens while minimizing contamination. IMPLICATIONS: It is important for microbiologists and practitioners to understand how and why these critical factors affect current blood-culture practices to improve patient management. Future research should emphasize which of these critical factors will still play a role in the era of molecular diagnostic tests, which will no longer be relevant, and which new critical factors have yet to be defined.
Authors: Carsten Peukert; Sachin Popat Gholap; Ori Green; Lukas Pinkert; Joop van den Heuvel; Marco van Ham; Doron Shabat; Mark Brönstrup Journal: Angew Chem Int Ed Engl Date: 2022-04-27 Impact factor: 16.823