Educate me on Blood Cultures

[Amnesiac70]

How important are these for patients? I notice doctor's will order these on most every patient that gets admitted. How important is it to get that second set? In normal circumstances I don't mind pulling them but let's say I have a patient who is very ill and has ABx orders, but they are a difficult IV stick. They have a 24 gauge in the pinky finger and NO other veins. Should I be killing myself and poking this patient a million times to try to get the second set?

Please and Thank you.

[F.E.R.N., BSN, RN]

At our facility, if the patient is on antibiotics, whether prior to arrival or administered by ED staff, we simply make a notation of what they've had and order the cultures as a FAN. The lab has never told us the FAN cultures are any less usable for the purpose of guiding treatment. Is this not the case elsewhere?

It is not uncommon that patients being admitted for infections have already been on a home course of antibio therapy. Our lab also does all pedi cultures as a FAN, although I don't know why.