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Blood cultures from peripheral IV cannula versus dedicated venepuncture

Three Part Question

In [patients presenting to the Emergency Department] does [taking blood cultures from freshly inserted peripheral intravenous cannula rather than by dedicated venepuncture] result in [higher rates of contamination]?

Clinical Scenario

Your hospital has a policy which states that blood cultures should be taken by dedicated venepuncture, rather than from freshly inserted intravenous cannulae, in order to reduce the risk of contamination. You wonder if this is supported by the literature.

Search Strategy

Medline 1950-07/07 using the DIALOG interface.
[culture] AND [(cannula OR catheter)] AND [peripheral] AND [(contamination OR contaminated OR contaminate)] AND [LG=EN]

Search Outcome

Altogether 102 papers were found, of which 4 helped to answer the question posed.