Time to Grow Positive Blood Cultures and Its Impact on Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Bacteremia Admitted to Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Introduction: Bloodstream infections are one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity. Time to positive blood culture may be reflective of the severity of infection. We aim to study the impact of time to positivity (TTP) of blood culture upon clinical outcome. Methods: Data from blood cultures for 17 months duration reviewed. Outcome measures included in-hospital mortality and length of stay in ICU (LOSICU). TTP was determined for each sample. Demographics (age, gender, BMI, and nationality), APACHE-2 score for severity of illness, comorbid conditions, and other confounding factors were recorded. Results: One hundred and one patients with 346 positive blood cultures with mean age of 62 and mean APACHE-2 score of 18.9 + 9.7 (mean +SD) with overall observed mortality of 61%. Median TTP was 20.2 h with quartiles cutoff Q1 = 15.3, Q2 = 20.2, Q3 = 28, and range 8–104 h. Only APACHE-2 scores predict LOSICU. TTP is not a significant predictor for mortality or LOSICU. Discussion: Data on TTP of blood cultures have a complex interaction with clinical outcomes. Conclusion: TTP of blood cultures does not predict mortality or length of stay in ICU.

Keywords

• time to positivity of blood cultures
• clinical outcomes
• bacteremia
• critical
• infectious
• inflammatory markers
• medicine