Feature ArticlesClinical Nurse Specialist Practice Impact on Emergency Department Blood Culture ContaminationBurnie, Jeannie MS, APRN, AGCNS-BC, CEN, FAEN, FCNS; Vining, Samantha MSN, RN, FNP-C Author Information Author Affiliations: TriHealth (Mrs Burnie and Ms Vining); and Bethesda North Hospital (Ms Vining), Cincinnati, Ohio. The authors report no conflicts of interest. Correspondence: Jeannie Burnie, MS, APRN, AGCNS-BC, CEN, FAEN, FCNS, 434 Aspen Ridge Dr, Lebanon OH, 45036 ([email protected]; [email protected]). Clinical Nurse Specialist 35(6):p 314-317, 11/12 2021. | DOI: 10.1097/NUR.0000000000000634 Buy Metrics Abstract Purpose/Objectives Blood culture collection is a common procedure performed in emergency departments. Rate of blood culture contamination is a metric that is tracked by organizations to ensure appropriate treatment for patients suspected of having bacteremia and ensure appropriate use of hospital resources. A team of nurses and technicians undertook a quality improvement project to decrease blood culture contamination rates in a suburban emergency department. Description of the Project The project included use of standardized blood culture collection kits, creation of a dedicated collection team, and implementation of a new blood culture collection device. Outcome Through this work, blood culture contamination rates decreased from greater than 3.0% to less than 1.5% consistently for nearly 24 months. Conclusions Providing feedback and continued monitoring has made this quality improvement initiative a success for the department and the organization and has resulted in cost savings of nearly 2 million dollars. Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
