TABLE 1.
Comparison of contaminated blood cultures collected by phlebotomists to those collected by other staffa
| Location | Total no. of blood cultures | No. (%) of positive blood cultures | No. (%) of contaminated blood cultures
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collected by phlebotomists | Collected by nonphlebotomists | Total | |||
| ED west | 3,662 | 503 (13.7) | 62 (3.1) | 122 (7.4) | 184 (5.0) |
| ED nonwest | 1,770 | 229 (12.9) | NAb | 100 (5.6) | 100 (5.6) |
a
Phlebotomists in ED west collected 2,012 blood cultures. Nonphlebotomists, which include nursing staff, residents, emergency medical technicians/students, nursing students, and medical students, collected 1,650 blood cultures in ED west. None of the 1,770 blood cultures in ED nonwest were collected by phlebotomists.
b
NA, not applicable.