What is Blood Culture?
Blood is a sterile body fluid and the presence of bacteria or fungi in the bloodstream is a serious medical issue. Blood cultures aim to detect the presence of microorganisms in the blood stream. A positive blood culture provides the etiologic agent for identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing, enabling optimization of therapy.
“…Positive blood culture results either establish or confirm an infectious etiology of a patient’s illness. Moreover, [they also provide] the etiologic agent for AST, which, in turn, optimizes antimicrobial therapy.”1
Why are Blood Cultures Important?
Blood culture is the most widely used diagnostic tool for the detection of bacteremia and fungemia. It is the most important way to diagnose the etiology of bloodstream infections and improve patient care in a context that could eventually lead to sepsis.
Sepsis is one of the most significant challenges in critical care, and early diagnosis is one of the most decisive factors in determining patient outcome. Blood culture analysis remains the gold standard for diagnosing sepsis2,3.
Early identification of pathogens in the blood can be a crucial step in assuring appropriate therapy. Beginning effective antibiotic treatment as early as possible can have a significant impact on the outcome of the disease.4,5
Our Blood Culture Identification Offer
Position your lab as a key role in your healthcare organization with bioMérieux
As a leader in clinical microbiology, each component of our blood culture identification solution meets the standards for healthcare diagnostics. Rapid and accurate identification of the bacteria or fungi causing bloodstream infections (BSIs) provides vital clinical information required to diagnose and treat your patients and for that, the contribution of microbiology diagnostics is essential. Our solution not only provides increased accuracy and efficiency but is adaptable to customers' needs and constraints.
Disclaimer: Product availability varies by country. Please consult your local bioMérieux representative for product availability in your country.
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BACT/ALERT® Culture Media Bottles
Innovative & Optimized Culture Media
BACT/ALERT® culture media offers a comprehensive range of media bottles to ensure the recovery of a wide variety of microorganisms including bacteria, mycobacteria, and fungi – including our next generation Fastidious Antimicrobial Neutralization Plus media (FAN® PLUS) offering optimized time to detection and recovery.
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BACT/ALERT® VIRTUO®
Automated System for Faster Blood Culture
The first fully automated blood culture system, helping to refine and redesign laboratory workflow to maximize efficiency, while providing the fastest clinically impactful results on the market.1,2
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BACT/ALERT® 3D
Accurate Blood Culture Results
BACT/ALERT® 3D brings flexible and modular automated detection systems for any size laboratory that needs to meet blood culture guidelines efficiently, economically, and effectively.
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MAESTRIA™
New Generation Microbiology Middleware
An innovative, integrated software solution designed to orchestrate your lab routine and transform data into insights.
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PREVI® COLOR GRAM
A Market-Leading Automated Gram Stainer Offering Confidence in Results
Gram staining is a key step in your microbiology workflow, and PREVI® COLOR GRAM is the system to streamline it and provide timely staining results for impactful decisions.
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BIOFIRE® Blood Culture Identification 2 Panel
1 Test. 43 Targets. ~1 Hour.
The BIOFIRE BCID2 Panel tests for 43 targets associated with bloodstream infections, including Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria, yeast, and 10 antimicrobial resistance genes – all with one test and with results available in about an hour from positive blood culture.
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VITEK® MS PRIME
New-Generation Mass Spectrometry Microbial Identification System
VITEK® MS PRIME combines microbiology expertise with innovation taking mass spectrometry to the next level by maximizing the impact of daily laboratory workflow for better patient care.
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VITEK® 2
Fully integrated Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing
VITEK® 2, the leading automated system for routine antimicrobial susceptibility testing, provides efficient workflow, faster AST results. Its fully-integrated ID & AST approach ensures superior performance to rapidly and confidently guide therapy.
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VITEK® REVEAL™
Rapid Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) for Bloodstream Infections
The newest addition to our Sepsis Solution, VITEK® REVEAL™ offers rapid AST results to effectively and efficiently manage bloodstream infections.
Useful Resources on Blood Culture Identification
Contact Us About Our Blood Culture Identification Solutions
References
1. CLSI. Principles and Procedures for Blood Cultures. 2nd ed. CLSI guideline M47 Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute; 2022
2. Duncan CF et al., Curr Infect Dis Rep, 2021
3. Sinha M et al., Clin Microbiol Rev, 2018
4. Garey KW, Rege M, Pai MP, et al. Time to Initiation of Fluconazole Therapy Impacts Mortality in Patients with Candidemia: A Multi-Institutional Study. Clin Infect Dis. 2006;43(1):25-31
5. Khatib R, Saeed S, Sharma M, et al. Impact of initial antibiotic choice and delayed appropriate treatment on the outcome of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. Eur J Clin Microbial Infect Dis. 2006;25(3):181-185 9. Kollef MH, Sherman G, Ward S, Fraser VJ. Inad