Blood Culture

Results

A blood culture is a test to find an infection in the blood. Most bacteria can be seen in the culture in 2 to 3 days, but some types can take 10 days or longer to show up. Fungus can take up to 30 days to show up in the culture.

Blood culture

Normal:	No bacteria or fungus is found. Normal culture results are called negative.
Abnormal:	Bacteria or fungus grows in the culture. Abnormal culture results are called positive.

If bacteria are found in the culture, another test is often done to find the best antibiotic that will kill the bacteria. This is called sensitivity or susceptibility testing. Sensitivity testing is important so the blood infection is treated correctly. This also helps prevent bacteria from becoming resistant to antibiotics.

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Author:	Jan Nissl, RN, BS	Last Updated: December 4, 2006
Medical Review:	Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine Joseph O'Donnell, MD - Hematology/Oncology
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