Blood culture time to positivity in pediatric patients with bloodstream infection in rural Gambia.

OBJECTIVES

There is a lack of data on the time to blood culture positivity (TTP) in pediatric populations in low-income countries. We aimed to assess the host and pathogen factors associated with TTP in children aged under 5 years in rural Gambia.

METHODS

Between September 2019 and December 2023, we collected blood cultures from children under 5 years with suspected bloodstream infections. We determined the TTP from the time of culture incubation to when bacterial growth was first detected.

RESULTS

Overall, 547 invasive bacteria pathogens were evaluated. The median TTP was 19.2 hours and 70%, 76%, 89%, and 96% of cases had TTP at 24, 36, 48, and 72 hours, respectively. Streptococcus pneumoniae had the shortest median TTP (17.4 hours), whereas Neisseria species had the longest (45 hours). TTP was dependent on the pathogen and independent of age, sex, temperature, clinical outcome, nutritional status, and length of hospital stay. Gram-positive bacteria had shorter TTP than gram-negative bacteria (18.6 vs 19.6 hours, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

In rural Gambia, most blood cultures from pediatric patients would turn positive within 48 hours of incubation. A maximum of 48 hours of observation after the commencement of antibiotic therapy in hospitalized children may be sufficient for clinicians to receive feedback on blood culture results.