Bacteremia Flashcards
Bacteremia
presence of bacteria in the blood
T or F: Fever and symptoms must be present to be classified as bacteremia.
FALSE
T or F: Any bacteria can lead to bacteremia in the right host.
TRUE
Why isn’t fever isn’t the best indicator of bacteremia?
non-specific
lots of things cause fever
Sepsis
immune response IN ADDITION to the infection that leads to an inflammatory, acute phenotype
organ dysfunction
a clinical syndrome
Systemic Inflammatory Response syndrome (SIRS)
Sepsis involves the:
a) innate immune system
b) acquired immune system
a) innate immune system
non-specific
neutrophilic immune response*
Types of bacteremia (2)
1) primary
2) secondary
Primary bacteremia
ONLY source of the bacteria
starts in the blood
Secondary bacteremia
blood AND other sites
Examples of common secondary bacteremias
pneumonia
UTIs
Other classification for bacteremias (3)
1) transient
2) intermittent
3) continuous
Transient bacteremia
anytime bacteria is introduced into the blood stream as a result of activity
common, asymptomatic
not clinically significant
last minutes
Example of transient bacteremia
micro abrasions from brushing teeth
What does transient bacteremia increase the risk of?
infectious endocarditis
Intermittent bacteremia
extravascular sources of bacteria that seed into the blood
repeating events often
Examples of intermittent bacteremia
IV
pneumonia
abscess
GI perforation
Continuous bacteremia
intravascular source of infection
consistent presence of bacteria in the blood
Continuous bacteremia examples
pacemaker
prosthetic device
IVs
Most common pathogens that colonize skin/cause continuous bacteremia (3)
1) S. aureus
2) S. epidermidis
3) Candida albicans
What can develop on IV and prosthetic devices?
biofilm
Most common type of bacteremia
intermittent
Bacteremia diagnostic test
blood culture
What is NEVER considered a contaminant? (3)
1) S. aureus
2) Group A strep (pyogenes)
3) Gram negative bacteria
e.g. E. coli
T or F: You should refrigerate bacteremia bottles.
FALSE
DO NOT REFRIGERATE!!**
