Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41003579›Full record

ArticleTropical medicine and infectious disease2025

Improved Utilisation and Quality of Blood Culture Services Following Operational Research in a Tertiary Hospital in Ghana.

Rita Sewornu, Emily Boakye-Yiadom, Emmanuel Ativi, Precious Kwablah Kwadzokpui, Bismark Senahey, Helena Owusu, Pruthu Thekkur, Ajay M V Kumar, Cornelius C Dodoo

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Tropical medicine and infectious disease, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Rita SewornuLaboratory Department, Ho Teaching Hospital, Ho P.O. Box MA 374, Ghana.ORCID 0009-0001-0746-3134
Emily Boakye-YiadomLaboratory Department, Ho Teaching Hospital, Ho P.O. Box MA 374, Ghana.ORCID 0000-0002-9605-6791
Emmanuel AtiviLaboratory Department, Ho Teaching Hospital, Ho P.O. Box MA 374, Ghana.ORCID 0000-0002-8460-0868
Precious Kwablah KwadzokpuiLaboratory Department, Ho Teaching Hospital, Ho P.O. Box MA 374, Ghana.
Bismark SenaheyLaboratory Department, Ho Teaching Hospital, Ho P.O. Box MA 374, Ghana.
Helena OwusuPharmacy Department, Family Health, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra P.O. Box KB 77, Ghana.ORCID 0000-0003-0226-5056
Pruthu ThekkurCentre for Operational Research, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), 2 Rue Jean Lantier, 75001 Paris, France.ORCID 0000-0001-5257-5074
Ajay M V KumarCentre for Operational Research, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), 2 Rue Jean Lantier, 75001 Paris, France.ORCID 0000-0003-1011-8531
Cornelius C DodooDepartment of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, School of Pharmacy, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho P.O. Box PMB 31, Ghana.ORCID 0000-0003-4369-8245

Funding

This SORT IT program was funded by TDR. TDR.HQTDR 2422924-4.1-72863
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Operational research (OR) published in 2023 revealed low utilisation and suboptimal quality of blood culture services at a tertiary hospital in Ghana. To address these, several interventions were implemented, including sensitisation of physicians, training of laboratory staff, use of automated incubation systems, and improved availability of laboratory consumables. To assess the impact of these interventions, we conducted a follow-up study in a cross-section of inpatients (n = 1080) with suspected bloodstream infections (BSI) admitted in 2024. There were three key changes. First, there was a five-fold increase in requests for blood culture from 8% pre-OR to 40% post-OR. Culture requests were more frequent from child health department (63%) and intensive care units (53%) compared to surgery department (15%). Second, there was a reduction in delays: time from hospital admission to culture request was reduced from 2 days to 1 day, and the laboratory turn-around time was reduced from 7 days to 5 days. Third, there was a marginal improvement (

Indexed as

antimicrobial resistanceantimicrobial susceptibility testingblood culturebloodstream infectionsGhanalaboratory qualityneonatal sepsisoperational researchSORT ITVolta Region

Identifiers

PMID41003579
PMCPMC12474044

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.