Blood Culture Media
Blood culture media in blood culture bottles are used to detect the presence of infection-causing pathogens in the circulating blood. They are designed to help diagnose bacteremia or fungemia, often resulting from lung, skin, urinary tract, or gastrointestinal system infections. Untreated blood infections (septicemia) can progress to sepsis, a life-threatening inflammatory condition that produces blood clots, low blood pressure, and other potentially fatal symptoms.
Find blood culture bottles in a range of capacities with different blood culture media types and amounts.
Featured Products
BD BBL™ SEPTI-CHEK™ Blood Culture System: Sub/Venting units
Designed for rapid qualitative detection, isolation, and differentiation of pathogens from blood
BD BACTEC™ PEDS Plus PRIME Medium Culture Vials
For use with BD BACTEC 9000 or BD BACTEC FX Systems. BACTEC™ Bottle Plastic PEDS Plus PRIME Medium Culture Vials requires a software upgrade.
Thermo Scientific™ VersaTREK™ REDOX™ EZ Draw™ Media
Perform safe, simple and convenient phlebotomy, without the need for costly blood adapters, using the only FDA-cleared blood culture bottles for true direct draws.
Thermo Scientific™ VersaTREK™ Connectors
Facilitate organism detection by linking culture bottle pressure changes to the Thermo Scientific™ VersaTREK™ instrument sensor while preventing gas build up in the bottles.
Thermo Scientific™ VersaTREK™ REDOX™ Media
Recover organisms from all patient scenarios, including pediatrics, with just two bottles, reducing inventory and costs and enhancing fastidious organism detection.
Thermo Scientific™ VersaTREK™ Myco Growth Supplement (Myco GS)
Promote growth of slow-growing mycobacteria within an inoculated bottle and facilitate detection with Thermo Scientific™ VersaTREK™ Myco Growth Supplement (Myco GS).
Thermo Scientific™ VersaTREK™ Myco PVNA (Polymyxin B, Vancomycin, Nalidixic Acid, Amphotericin B)
Accurately detect mycobacteria in potentially contaminated specimens using Thermo Scientific™ VersaTREK™ Myco PVNA (Polymyxin B, Vancomycin, Nalidixic Acid, Amphotericin B).
Thermo Scientific™ VersaTREK™ Myco Media
Reliably detect a wide variety of mycobacteria species from all specimen types with one bottle using a unique growth matrix, cellulose sponges, to provide better recovery.
BD Bactec™ Media: Myco/F Lytic
For use with BACTEC 9240, 9120, and 9050 Systems
BD™ Bactec™ Media: Lytic/10 Anaerobic/F
For use with BACTEC 9240, 9120, and 9050 Systems
BD BACTEC™ Bottle Plastic Plus PRIME Anaerobic Medium
Pre-reduced enriched Soybean-Casein Digest broth with CO2
BD™ Bactec™ Media: Standard Anaerobic/F
For use with BACTEC 9240, 9120, and 9050 Systems
BD™ Bactec™ Media: Standard/10 Aerobic/F
For use with BACTEC 9240, 9120, and 9050 Systems
BD™ Bactec™ Media: Peds Plus
For use with BACTEC 9240, 9120, and 9050 Systems
BD™ Bactec™ Media: Plus Anaerobic/F
For use with BACTEC 9240, 9120, and 9050 Systems
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Blood Culture Specimen Collection
When possible, collect two sets of 10 to 20 milliliters of blood samples from two different body sites from adults. Inadequate volumes or collecting only a single blood culture set can significantly reduce test sensitivity and make result interpretation difficult. Do not collect multiple sets of blood cultures from a single venipuncture or intravascular line. Collect paired aerobic and anaerobic culture bottles, collecting the aerobic bottle first. (Aerobic blood culture bottles are typically vented to let oxygen into the bottle.)
Incubation Times
Blood cultures should be routinely incubated for five days, which allows time for most pathogens, including more fastidious bacteria (HACEK group), to grow. Incubations longer than five days increase recovery and also may be required for infections caused by Legionella, Brucella, Bartonella, or Nocardia spp. Incubate blood cultures for Mycobacterium spp. (more common in immunocompromised patients) for four weeks.
Blood Culture Analysis
In many healthcare facilities, blood culture analyzers are used to continuously monitor blood culture specimens. They incubate the blood culture bottles and signal if microbial growth is detected, typically becoming positive within 12 and 36 hours.
When a blood culture indicates growth, a Gram stain is performed to help identify pathogens. When indicated, subcultures support further identification and subsequent susceptibility testing.
The microbes that most frequently develop into sepsis are Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and some Streptococcus. Although these are aerobic bacteria, many other potential pathogens exist.
Each automated blood culture system requires specific medium formulations. Generally, formulations are designed to recover a diverse range of aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms.
- Blood culture media may contain proprietary mixtures of medium, anticoagulant, or other additives to reduce the effects of antimicrobials or other growth inhibitors in the specimen
- Some blood culture media contain lysins to release any intracellular organisms present
- Special formulations and supplements have been developed to support the growth of mycobacteria or facilitate antibiotic susceptibility testing