Study Highlights Effective Use of Blood Cultures and Diagnostic Stewardship in Pediatric Intensive Care Units

Three pediatric intensive care units (ICUs) that implemented a five-part Blood Culture Improvement Framework reduced unnecessary blood cultures by 32 percent in critically ill children, according to new research supported by AHRQ. Clinicians use blood cultures to test for the diagnosis of sepsis or bloodstream infections. However, false positive results are not uncommon with blood cultures and may lead to misdiagnosis and the unneeded use of antibiotics, contributing to the spread of antibiotic resistance. This research confirmed that diagnostic stewardship programs can be adapted and implemented by different institutions and in various clinical settings—in this case, a medical/surgical pediatric ICU, a cardiovascular ICU, and a mixed medical/cardiac ICU. The project also demonstrated that diagnostic stewardship is possible on a large scale in critically ill children. Access the abstract of the study, published in Pediatric Quality and Safety.