Your patient was admitted for a gunshot wound about a week ago.As a precautionary activity, the doctor placed her on antibiotics for a few days while recuperating.Blood specimens are drawn on the patient a several times daily and sent to the microbiology lab for analysis of bacteria.Nothing has grown in culture.On her 4th day in the hospital, she has had no fever and no other signs of infection, but one set of blood specimens has been reported positive for a bacterium.The culture was identified by the lab as Staphylococcus epidermidis, a common organism on the skin.Predict the likely situation leading to this.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Staphylococcus epidermidis is a common skin bacterium and is not typically associated with bloodstream infections. The most likely scenario is that the bacterium was introduced during the blood draw and was not a true bloodstream infection. This could have occurred due to poor aseptic technique during the venipuncture. The lack of growth in subsequent cultures supports this explanation.

Your Patient Was Admitted for a Gunshot Wound About a Week