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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2006, p. 1834-1835, Vol. 44, No. 5
0095-1137/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.44.5.1834-1835.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Prospective Study of the Value of Quantitative Culture of Organisms from Blood Collected through Central Venous Catheters in Differentiating between Contamination and Bloodstream Infection

University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center,¹ Baylor College of Medicine and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, Texas,² Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Crete, Greece³

Received 26 October 2005/ Returned for modification 23 December 2005/ Accepted 17 February 2006

Collection of blood through a central venous catheter for the diagnosis of bacteremia is a debated topic. Quantitative cultures of organisms from blood collected through central venous catheters were found to be highly sensitive, specific, and predictive of bacteremia, especially when a cutoff point of 15 colonies of skin organisms was used.