Clinical Skills: Blood Cultures

• Wash hands using soap and water
• Introduce self
• Check name with patient and on name band
• Ask permission to take blood sample to check for any bacteria in the blood


• Don gloves
• Gather and set up equipment (in a tray washed from inside-out first)
  • Blood culture bottles - aerobic and anaerobic
    • make sure these are in date
    • note the optimal blood volume recommended on the side of the bottle (usually 8-10mls) - you should be aiming for adding this amount of blood to the bottle
  • Chlorhexidine swabs
  • Barrel
  • Needle/Butterfly (depending on Medical School/Hospital Trust policy)
  • Tourniquet
  • Gloves
  • Cotton wool/gauze
  • Tape


• Return to patient
• Reposition patient's forearm with palm facing upwards
• Apply tourniquet and find suitable vein
• Wash hands and don new pair of gloves
• Wipe vein with alcohol swab - slowly and only once
• Take top off of both culture bottles and wipe the top of each one with separate wipes
• Wait for the tops of the culture bottles to dry (~30 seconds)
• Warn patient of a sharp scratch and insert needle
• If you are in the vein, insert the ends of the bottles into the barrel
  • Aerobic bottle first (as there will be spare gas in the needle or Butterfly)
• Remove the tourniquet
• Take out the needle and dispose of in sharps bin
• Apply cotton wool and tape
• Thank patient, tidy area and wash hands
• Record that sample taken in the patient's notes. Note down on the microbiology blood form: the differential diagnosis and any current antibiotics being given.

Downloads / Links

download pdf here

size: 200.3kb

Comments:

Make a Comment: