Pediatr Crit Care Me
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Jan 2020
Practices, Perceptions, and Attitudes in the Evaluation of Critically Ill Children for Bacteremia: A National Survey.
Sending blood cultures in children at low risk of bacteremia can contribute to a cascade of unnecessary antibiotic exposure, adverse effects, and increased costs. We aimed to describe practice variation, clinician beliefs, and attitudes about blood culture testing in critically ill children. ⋯ There is variation in blood culture practices in the PICU. Fear and reflexive habits are common drivers of cultures. These practices may contribute to over-testing for bacteremia. Further investigation of how to optimize blood culture use is warranted.