In: Nursing
Why are multiple sets of blood cultures drawn at the same time? Furthermore, what is a good sign that a patient truly has septicemia?
Multiple sets of blood cultures are drawn at the same time for the following reasons----
1) to get accurate results and free from errors as having multiple sets chances of failure or error of all are less.
2) sometimes the site from where the sample has been drawn would be different to check. As the amount of infection present is not the same in all other veins.
3) for the particular diagnosis sometimes the same blood can be tested through different procedures. So for the different cultures, different kinds of steps are followed.
Answer to the second part---------
Septicemia has several signs and it's presence but the most accurate can be---
1) alterations in heart rate and blood pressure
2) mental confusion and dizziness( infection can travel to the brain and release toxins that leads to menta degradation)
3) fever (a sign of having an infection, /temperature increases when body fight against infection
4) elevated ESR ( Erythrocyte sedimentation rate increases in case of inflammation)