Reducing Blood Culture Contamination in the Emergency Department.

Background: Blood culture contamination results in delayed or unnecessary treatments, increased morbidity risk, extended lengths of hospital stay, and increased health care costs. Collecting 2 sets of blood cultures from separate sites helps differentiate bloodstream infections (BSIs) from contamination.

Local Problem: Blood culture contamination rates trailed the national threshold of less than 3% in one southeastern US emergency department (ED).