Specimen Requirements

Whole Blood

Container: Blood Culture Vials

Specimen Collection:

1. A set of blood culture bottles consists of 1 BacT/ALERT aerobic (green) bottle & 1 BacT/ALERT anaerobic (orange) bottle OR 1 BacT/ALERT pediatric (yellow) bottle.
2. Remove plastic flip-top from each bottle and disinfect the rubber septum with an alcohol pad.
3. Disinfect venipuncture site on patient with appropriate disinfectant.
4. For Adult patients, aseptically draw 20 mL of blood into a syringe or directly into vials using transfer device. If less than 20 mL of blood obtained, 10 mL should be used to inoculate the aerobic (green) bottle and the remainder into the anaerobic (orange) bottle.
5. For Pediatric patients, aseptically draw 1 - 5 mL of blood into a syringe or directly into the vial using the appropriate safety device.
6. For adult patients, a 2nd set of blood cultures SHOULD be drawn in a 24 hour period to provide the optimal volume of blood to recover pathogens and aid in the interpretation of positive culture significance.
7. In addition to patient information, bottles must be labeled with date, time, site of collection, and volume of collection.
8. Send ASAP at room temperature.