Evaluation of an Internal Hospital Practice: The Effect of Altered Test Tubes Sampling Order on Blood Culture Contamination Rates

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Septicemia
• Interventions: Diagnostic Test: aspirating first blood volume into a regular blood collection tube

• Registration Number: NCT03088865
• Lead Sponsor: Hadassah Medical Organization

Brief Summary

Implementation of the initial specimen diversion technique, in which the first milliliter of the venipuncture sample is not injected into the culture bottle, led to a significant reduction in blood culture contamination rates. This technique is based on the assumption that the skin plug aspirated during venipuncture is a major source of contaminating bacteria. One such diversion method is aspirating the first blood volume into a blood collection tube. It has, however, been suggested that regular blood collection tubes carry contaminants from the tube's stopper into the blood cultures drawn afterwards, thereby increasing contamination rates. The aim of this trial is to examine the effect of aspirating the first blood volume into a regular blood collection tube on blood culture contamination rate.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2017-03-09
• Study First Submitted QC: 2017-03-19
• Study First Posted: 2017-03-23
• Study Start: 2017-09-01
• Primary Completion: 2018-09-06
• Study Completion: 2018-09-06
• Status Verified: 2020-02
• Last Update Submitted: 2020-07-28
• Last Update Posted: 2020-07-29

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 756

Inclusion Criteria

• Adults evaluated in the emergency room or as inpatients for suspected sepsis or having sepsis and from whom the treating physician plans to take, in the same venous puncture, blood cultures and additional blood tests (blood count and/or blood chemistry).

Exclusion Criteria

• None

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Standard practice	aspirating first blood volume into a regular blood collection tube	Aspirating first blood into blood culture bottles (Standard practice)
Initial Specimen Diversion	aspirating first blood volume into a regular blood collection tube	Aspirating first blood volume into a regular blood collection tube

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Blood culture contamination rate	7 days	A blood culture contamination is defined as growth in a single set of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, Micrococcus, Viridans group Streptococcus, Propionibacterium acne, Corynebacterium sp (diphtheroids) or Bacillus sp.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Hadassah Medical Center; 🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel