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Choosing Blood Cultures Wisely
Blood cultures are used to detect blood stream bacterial infections and are essential to tailor antibiotic therapy. However, repeated
blood cultures for a patient who is stable, has already had blood cultures taken and antibiotics started, are unlikely to change
treatment or diagnosis. Therefore, to reduce waste, and patient discomfort, take blood cultures wisely.
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Caption: Image used to prompt clinicians to 'Choose Your Blood Cultures Wisely'
The Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth looked at their use of blood cultures and developed guidelines for their staff, applying to blood cultures the
Choosing Wisely principle of ensuring the right amount of care – not too much and not too little. Pilot data from the WA-based Smart Sepsis project
suggested that significant inefficiencies in blood culture practices exist, with both excessive sample collection in some cases and also contamination
of specimens and insufficient sample collection in others.
At the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, we studied when and how many blood cultures are taken, and developed guidelines and a training program to
improve practice and help us Choose Wisely when it comes to blood cultures.
The multidisciplinary project team comprised clinical experts from a range of specialties including Consultants from the Emergency Department,
Haematology, Medical Oncology, Infectious Diseases, Junior Medical Officers and Nursing representation from Infection Prevention and Control with
support from a Project Manager. The Choosing Blood Cultures Wisely Project experienced delays related to Covid-19 and took around two years to
implement.
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5 Questions
5 questions to ask your doctor or other healthcare provider to make sure you end up with the right amount of care.
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Choosing Wisely Australia® is an initiative of NPS MedicineWise in partnership with Australia's health professional colleges, societies and associations. The campaign is supporting clinicians,
consumers and healthcare stakeholders to have important conversations about tests, treatments and procedures where evidence shows they provide no benefit or, in some cases, lead to
harm.
Independent, not-for-profit and evidence-based, NPS MedicineWise enables better decisions about medicines, medical tests and other health technologies. Our programs are funded by the
Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. ABN 61 082 034 393
Reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation. This information is not intended as a substitute for medical advice and should not be exclusively relied on to
manage or diagnose a medical condition. Choosing Wisely Australia® disclaims all liability (including for negligence) for any loss, damage or injury resulting from reliance on or use of this
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