Follow-up blood cultures are often needed after bacteremia

[摘要] Bacteremia is common and associatedwith signifi cant morbidity and mortality.Bloodstream infections rank among the leading causes of death in North America and Europe.In this issue, Mushtaq et al2 contend thatfollow-up blood cultures after initial bacteremia are not needed for most hospitalizedpatients. Not repeating blood cultures afterinitial bacteremia has been proposed to decrease hospitalization length, consultations,and healthcare costs in some clinical settings.However, without follow-up cultures, it canbe diffi cult to assess the adequacy of treatmentof bacteremia and associated underlying infections.

[学科分类] 卫生学