Blood Cultures Are Laboratory Tests Research Paper

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Uses- Blood cultures are often performed to identify specific strains of bacteria or microorganisms in the blood. Sometimes two or more cultures are ordered at different times, depending on symptoms, for a better understanding of any progression (growth) of pathogens. Often, the doctor will order a complete blood count as well (CBC) which determines if the individual has an increased white cell count that indicates a potential infection. Often, too, the results of the blood culture point to the need to order other tests on the blood, a blood chemistry panel, for instance, which evaluates the health of the individual's organs.

Pathology -- Blood cultures are ordered by medical professionals based on certain symptoms. These usually involve indications of sepsis, typically focuses as chills, fever, nausea, rapid respiration, confusion, decreased urine output, headaches, or a drop in blood pressure. This is particularly serious when a person has had a recent infection, surgery, or travel to a foreign country.

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If the blood cultures test positive, the indication is that the individual has some sort of bacterial or yeast infection that needs to be treated. Depending on the level of illness, the doctor may have already started broad spectrum antibiotics, and the results of the test often confirm specific pathogens requiring more specific treatments. False positive tests can be caused by skin contamination, which is typically why more than one sample is drawn. If two or more culture sets are negative (reported as "no growth") the individual either has no sepsis, or the particular microorganism needs a special media in which to manifest itself. Viruses cannot be detected using blood cultures, so other laboratory tests would need to be ordered (Blood Culture).

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