An evaluation of blood cultures in the emergency centre
The aim of this study is to determine whether routine blood cultures performed in a secondary level hospital Emergency Centre affect the choice of antibiotic used in treating patients with bacterial infections. A secondary aim is to determine if staff in the EC are aware of correct procedures for drawing blood cultures, and whether their practice reflects this. This will be a retrospective analysis of all blood cultures done in GF Jooste hospital over a 12 month period (1 April 2008 - 31 March 2009). The EC sees approximately 45 000 patients per year, and approximately 300 blood cultures are performed every month. Inclusion criteria: Age 18 or greater; Blood culture performed by EC staff in EC; Recorded blood culture result by laboratory; Patient in hospital when results received. The data will be analysed and presented as simple descriptive statistics.
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations