Blood Culture, Paediatric

Overview
Department	Microbiology
Test Code	PBAC
Synonyms	Paediatric blood culture Pedibact
Availability	Monday - Sunday, testing routinely available out of hours
Turnaround Time	0-5 days (routine incubation) 0-7 days (SBE incubation) 0-28 days (fungal incubation)
Stability - Test add
Specimen Requirements
Specimen
Preferred
Acceptable
Unacceptable	Any blood sample not in a blood culture bottle
Specimen Transportation	ASAP to lab – Do not refrigerate
Paediatric Requirements	1-3 mL whole blood in Paediatric blood culture bottle
Aliquot Requirements
Sample
Preferred Volume
Minimum Volume
Aliquot Transportation
Clinical Information
Reference Intervals
Test Method	Bactec continuous monitoring system
Advanced Notice	Not required
Patient Preparation	Aseptic technique essential
Comments
Note: Please state if ?SBE/ ?Endocarditis Single paediatric bottle (anaerobic bottle dependent on clinical presentation).  Blood cultures must be collected with strict adherence to aseptic techniques. Approximately 1-3 mL of blood should be added to broth bottle and delivered to laboratory as soon as possible. The possibility of isolating organisms after initiation of antimicrobial therapy is remote.  All positive blood cultures are immediately telephoned to the appropriate medical officer.