Prospective study of the value of quantitative culture of organisms from blood collected through central venous catheters in differentiating between contamination and bloodstream infection.

Collection of blood through a central venous catheter for the diagnosis of bacteremia is a debated topic. Quantitative cultures of organisms from blood collected through central venous catheters were found to be highly sensitive, specific, and predictive of bacteremia, especially when a cutoff point of 15 colonies of skin organisms was used.