Impact of Catheter-Drawn Blood Cultures on Patient Management: A Multicenter, Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Nosocomial bloodstream infections associated with intravascular catheters pose significant financial burden, morbidity, and mortality. There is much debate about whether or not blood cultures should be drawn through central venous catheters, and while guidelines advocate for catheter-drawn cultures when catheter infection is suspected, there is variable practice in this regard. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study assessing episodes of positive catheter-drawn blood cultures with concomitant negative percutaneously-drawn cultures in tertiary care hospitals in the United States and Spain. Results: We identified 143 episodes in 122 patients meeting inclusion criteria. Thirty percent of such episodes revealed growth of potential pathogens such as Conclusions: Many episodes of positive catheter-drawn blood cultures with concomitant negative percutaneously-drawn cultures lead to growth from percutaneously-drawn follow-up blood cultures. Thus, such initial discordant results should not be disregarded. Our findings advocate for a nuanced approach to blood culture interpretation, emphasizing the value of catheter-drawn blood cultures in clinical decision making and management.