Observational studyMicrobiology spectrum2026
Diagnostic disruption during a blood culture bottle shortage: clinical and laboratory adaptation strategies.
Observational study in Microbiology spectrum, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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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.
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Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In 2024, a global shortage of BD BACTEC blood culture bottles disrupted clinical practices worldwide. This study assessed the impact of the shortage on blood culture performance metrics and evaluated the effectiveness of the management strategies implemented at a tertiary care hospital. This single-center, cross-sectional, observational analysis was conducted at a tertiary healthcare center, spanning from October 2024 to November 2024. During the shortage, clinicians were requested to collect one Microxpress Colorcult culture vial (Tulip Diagnostics), including a 10 mL aerobic culture bottle per patient, with certain exceptions allowed for specific conditions. A total of 4,595 blood cultures were collected during the study period. The overall positivity rate, after excluding contaminated cultures, was found to be 2.8%. IMPORTANCE: The 2024 global shortage of BD BACTEC bottles disrupted diagnostic workflows, requiring laboratories and healthcare systems to implement alternative strategies. We evaluated blood culture performance before, during, and after the shortage, and assessed the use of an alternative manual system (Colorcult, MicroXpress, Tulip Diagnostics). While these bottles allowed testing to continue, they showed reduced recovery rates, longer time-to-detection, and higher contamination compared with automated systems. These findings emphasize the diagnostic risks of non-automated alternatives, especially for slow-growing organisms, and underline the need for validated contingency strategies. To our knowledge, this is the first study from India to evaluate such adaptations during a global shortage.
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