Are Blood Cultures Useful in Patients with Skin and Soft Tissue Infections?

Abstract

Introduction: Blood cultures are almost routinely performed in patients hospitalized with skin and soft tissue infections (SST1s). The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic importance of blood cultures in patients hospitalized with SST1s. Materials and Methods: A total of 205 patients with cellulitis admitted to the adult clinics of Ondokuz Mayis University Hospital between January 2010 and June 2016. Data were collected from electronic medical records. Data collection included demographics, clinical characteristics. outcomes, number of radiologic and laboratory studies. Results: Blood cultures and wound cultures were performed on 205 (100%) and 61 (29.8%) patients subsequently. Seven out of 205 (1.5%) blood cultures and 29 out of 61(47.5%) wound cultures were positive (p<0.001). The positive blood cultures grew beta-hemolytic streptococci (n=4), methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) (n=2) and Serratia marcescens (n=1). MSSA was isolated in 18 out of 61 (25.9%) wound cultures. 94 (46.3%) patients had antibiotic use history prior to hospitalization. Conclusion: Blood culture has a limited diagnostic value in the management of SST1s. Clinicians should avoid overusing unnecessary blood cultures in patients with cellulitis because of their lack of benefit and no contribution to patient management.