Rate of blood culture contamination in a teaching hospital: a single center study

Objectives: Contamination of blood samples can lead to serious problems in patient management. The administration of unnecessary antibiotics, wastage of hospital resources, and risks to patient life are some of the known hazards. This study aimed to calculate the rate of blood culture contamination and associated factors at King Khalid University Hospital [KKUH], Riyadh, KSA

Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study. The total study population was calculated based on a review of all of the request sheets for blood cultures submitted to the microbiology laboratory from 1st of January to 31st of December, 2012, at KKUH, Riyadh, KSA

Results: The rate of blood culture contamination [false positive] was 1.9%, while 8.71% of the blood culture samples had true infections [true positive]. Coagulase negative staphylococcus [CoNS] was the most predominant isolate [87%]. The rate of blood culture contamination was significantly higher during the summer season of June [1.38%], July [3.97%] and August [3.72%] compared to other months of the year [p value < 0.05]. The surgical units in this study had the highest rate of blood culture contamination [3.92%], followed by intensive care [2.61%] and medical units [2.48%]

Conclusion: The rate of blood culture contamination at KKUH is within the acceptable international range. The highest rates of blood culture contamination occurred during the summer season and in the surgical units

Home caregivers' satisfaction with the services provided by Riyadh Military Hospital's home support program

The satisfaction of the family is essential to the success of home care support services. This study aimed to assess home caregivers' satisfaction with support services and to identify potential factors affecting their satisfaction. The study was conducted in the Family and Community Medicine Department at Riyadh Military Hospital using cross-sectional design over a period of six months. Two hundred forty participants were recruited by systematic random sampling from the division registry. Data were collected through telephone calls using a designed structured interview form. All research ethics principles were followed. The response rate was 76.25%. Most caregivers were patients' sons or daughters. The duration of patients' disabling illnesses varied from less than 1 year to up to 40 years. The majority of caregivers agreed that a home care services team provided the proper healthcare-related support to the patients and improved caregivers' self-confidence in caring for their patients. Overall, on a scale of 100%, the median level of satisfaction was 90%, and 73.2% of caregivers had a satisfaction score of 75% or higher. Increased age, female gender, and more frequent home visits were positive independent factors associated with caregivers' satisfaction scores. Although most caregivers are satisfied with the services provided by a home care support program, there are still areas of deficiency, particularly in physiotherapy, vocational therapy, and social services. The implications are that caregivers need to be educated and trained in caring for their patients and need to gain self-confidence in their skills. The program's administration should improve physiotherapy, vocational therapy, social services, and procedures for hospital referral