Blood culture procedures and practices in the neonatal intensive care unit: A survey of a large multicenter collaborative in California.

OBJECTIVE: To describe variation in blood culture practices in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

DESIGN: Survey of neonatal practitioners involved with blood culturing and NICU-level policy development.

PARTICIPANTS: We included 28 NICUs in a large antimicrobial stewardship quality improvement program through the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative.

METHODS: Web-based survey of bedside blood culture practices and NICU- and laboratory-level practices. We evaluated adherence to recommended practices.

RESULTS: Most NICUs did not have a procedural competency (54%), did not document the sample volume (75%), did not receive a culture contamination report (57%), and/or did not require reporting to the provider if 50% of practices, compared to units without (92% vs 50% of units; P < .02).

CONCLUSIONS: In the NICU setting, recommended practices for blood culturing were not routinely performed.