Assess of Quality of Blood Culture Testing - A Survey in Intensive Care Units and Microbiological Laboratories

Abstract

Background: Blood culture (BC) testing before starting antimicrobial therapy is an internationally recommended practice for sepsis management, essential for reducing ICU stays and a core component of antibiotic stewardship programs. However, BC testing faces limitations, including low pathogen detection rates and challenges in standardizing preanalytic procedures, which impact diagnostic accuracy and vary across healthcare systems.