Comparison of standard and quantitative blood cultures in the evaluation of children with suspected central venous line sepsis

We reviewed our experience with paired quantitative and standard blood cultures in the evaluation of children with suspected central-line spesis with the hypothesis that by employing both systems we would increase our yield of pathogenic isolates. A total of 913 paired cultures were reviewed, representing 267 pathogenic isolates and 58 individual episodes of sepsis. The isolates were analyzed for recovery rates for each system and by combining both systems. The Isolator system proved to be equal to the bactec system for the recovery of all groups of pathogenic isolates. The combined use of both the quantitative and the standard culture systems demonstrated a statistically significant advantage (p<0.001) for the recovery of pathogens as compared with either system alone. The use of either system alone would have missed 15% of the total pathogenic isolates. Quantitative colony counts were helpful in identifying the line as the source of infection in 35 to 58 episodes of sepsis and were often beneficial in the clinical management central venous line infection. We recommend the use of the Isolator 1.5 ml combined with a conventional broth-bottle system in selected pediatric patients to enhance the recovery of pathogenic organisms.