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Multicenter Implementation of a Quality Improvement Program to Reduce Blood Culture Contamination in the Emergency Department

ClinicalTrials.gov · COMPLETED, 2013

14,889 participants

Abstract

False positive blood culture results due to specimen contamination with bacteria inhabiting patients' skin is a common problem in emergency departments (EDs) in the United States. Contaminated blood cultures lead to patient harm through unnecessary hospitalizations and ED visits, delays in surgery, unneeded antibiotics, and unnecessary procedures. The investigators have developed a multifaceted quality improvement improvement bundle (The Blood Culture QI Program) designed to minimize blood culture contamination in the ED. In this study, the investigators will implement the quality improvement bundle in six community hospital EDs and evaluate its effectiveness at reducing contamination.

Conditions: Bacteremia.

Primary outcome: Biweekly proportion of ED blood cultures contaminated.

Enrollment: 14889 participants.

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a clinical trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 14,889 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

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