Clean the skin: Reducing blood culture contamination in the emergency department.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether blood culture contamination (BCC) rates could be decreased in the ED by an educational programme.

METHODS

Educational intervention focusing on a 1-min venepuncture cleaning time and providing a larger chlorhexidine alcohol swab. BCC rates were examined retrospectively 12-month pre-, and 9-month post-intervention.

RESULTS

Six thousand nine hundred and fifty-three blood cultures were collected over the study period. The BCC rate was 2.4% pre-intervention versus 1.8% post-intervention, with no significant difference in BCC rates (Z-score = 1.862, P = 0.063).

CONCLUSION

This educational intervention focusing on skin clean time did not significantly decrease BCC rates in a setting of an already low (<3%) BCC rate.