Special CollectionsDifficulty 3/5
Why is skin preparation especially rigorous for blood culture collection?
- ASkin flora entering the bottle produces a false negative and a missed infection
- BInadequate preparation reduces the volume of blood the bottle will accept
- CInadequate preparation prevents the culture bottle from being drawn first
- DSkin flora entering the bottle produces a false positive and unnecessary treatment
Show answer and rationale
Correct: D. A contaminated culture grows organisms from the skin rather than the bloodstream, and the patient is treated for an infection they do not have. That consequence is why techniques and locations for skin prep have their own knowledge statement.
- A — Contamination adds organisms rather than masking them, so the error is a false positive.
- B — Skin preparation does not affect the vacuum or capacity of the culture bottle.
- C — Draw order is set by the CLSI sequence and is unaffected by preparation quality.