Blood Stream Infection

Fresenius Medical Care is recalling millions of single use sterile syringes used during hemodialysis treatments because of leakages, the company reported.

Blood culture contamination was significantly reduced when phlebotomists used an initial specimen diversion device on patients vs. the use of traditional venipuncture, according to a recent study.

In a retrospective study of more than 10,000 bloodstream infections, a delay of 12 hours in initiating appropriate antimicrobial therapy was associated with increased 30-day mortality, but shorter delays were not, researchers found.