No bacterial growth found in spiked intravenous fluids over an 8-hour period.

Protocol changes prompted by the Joint Commission mandating intravenous (IV) fluid bags to be used within 1 hour of spiking because of possible bacterial contamination have sparked clinical and economic concerns. This study investigated the degree of bacterial growth in which samples were obtained from spiked IV fluid bags at the time of spiking and 1, 2, 4, and 8 hours after spiking. No bacterial growth occurred in any of the 80 bags of Lactated Ringer's (LR) IV solutions sampled. This study demonstrated that LR IV bags do not support any bacterial growth for up to 8 hours after spiking.