A Quality Improvement Initiative on Reducing Blood Culture Contamination in the Emergency Department

Contaminated blood cultures may have detrimental effects on patients, the organization, and antimicrobial stewardship. Patients in the emergency department may need blood cultures collected before antimicrobial therapy. Contaminated blood culture samples may contribute to prolonged hospital stay and also are associated with delayed or unnecessary antimicrobial therapy. This initiative aims to improve the emergency department’s blood culture contamination rate that will eventually benefit the patients who will receive timely and proper antimicrobial therapy, and benefit the organization fiscally. This quality improvement initiative used the Define–Measure–Analyze–Improve–Control (DMAIC) process. The organization targets blood culture contamination rate of ≤2.5%. Control charts were used to study how blood culture contamination rate changed over time. In 2018, a workgroup was formed to work on this initiative. Improved site disinfection using 2% Chlorhexidine gluconate cloth before the standard procedure of blood culture sample collection was initiated. Chi squared test of significance was used to compare blood culture contamination rates 6 months before and during feedback intervention as well as contamination rate from source of blood draw. Blood culture contamination rates 6 months before and during feedback intervention showed significant decrease (3.52% before intervention and 2.95% after intervention; P < .05). Contamination rates differed significantly based on the source of blood culture draw (7.64% via line, 3.05% via percutaneous venipuncture, and 4.53% via other; P < .01). Blood culture contamination rate continued to decrease with the use of a predisinfection process with 2% Chlorhexidine gluconate cloth before blood sample collection process. Practice improvement also was evident with effective feedback mechanism.