In this episode of the SOS AMS podcast, Julia and Nicki take a closer look at the management of bacteremia. They discuss interpretation of blood culture results, including distinguishing between contaminant and true pathogen, the clinical utility of time to positivity, and the identification of high risk bacteremias. They discuss a systematic approach to managing patients with bacteremia, and evaluation for sources of infection. They then make specific mention of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia and the four-pronged bundle of care for Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia as well as discussing the rationale for that bundle. Relevant references can be accessed at the provided hyperlink

The learning objectives for this podcast are:

1. Review interpretation of blood culture results with respect to community vs hospital onset, time to positivity, discerning true pathogen from contaminant, and identifying highest risk pathogens. 


2. Explain why identifying the source of bacteremia is critical to the management plan.


3. Review appropriate bundle of care for Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. 


4. Apply this knowledge to 3 patient cases (in Part 2 of this podcast: Applied Cases in Bacteremia)

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