Nursing actions at blood cultures

Abstract

The blood culture is a very important exam indicated in clinical evidences of bacteremia. Its result contributes to identify the etiologic agent and to determine the specific therapeutic decision. So, this investigation was carried out in order to evaluate how the nurses, nursing technicians and auxiliaries used to collect blood for culture. The data was gathered through direct observation and structured individual interview with 12 (42,86%) nursing professionals that worked at the nursing section of medical clinics in a teaching, general and public hospital of the state of São Paulo. The results showed that several attitudes were adopted concerning the anti-septics, volume of blood collected, collecting in time of fever, use of mask and gloves, handwashing, etc. This situation is very worrying since these features can interfere in the result of blood culture.