Abstract

“A STUDY OF COMMON ISOLATES IN BLOOD CULTURES FROM TERTIARY CARE PEDIATRIC HOSPITAL”

Sakina Bhattiwala*, Nihal Sanchita and Roy Vishwaprakash

ABSTRACT

Blood culture is a microbiological culture of blood. It is employed to detect infections that are spreading through the bloodstream which usually is a sterile environment. Bloodstream infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in adults and children alike. Blood cultures are still considered to be the ‘gold standard’ for the detection of microbial pathogens related to bacteremia and sepsis despite newer molecular techniques. This study discusses the optimal use of blood cultures, and highlights the different challenges posed by newborns, infants, and older children. Despite the major advances in neonatal medicine, many infants still develop life-threatening infections during the first month of life. Identifying and caring for an infant with a possible infection starts with a skilled nurse who is proficient in performing neonatal assessments. Improved culture media and new technology integrated into blood culture systems could shorten incubation time required to detect positive culture results. This would then change the length of antibiotic therapy in the management of the newborn infant with suspected sepsis.

Keywords: Sample, Microbiological Culture, Pure Culture, Identification, Biochemical Analysis, Observations.