Background: The recovery of bacteria from blood can be affected by many factors. Standardization of blood culture methods is important for reliability. Herein, we aimed to investigate blood culture protocols in Korea.

Methods: We performed a multicenter survey with a questionnaire about blood culture practices, which was sent by email to directors and clinical physicians in charge of clinical microbiology laboratories in May 2014. Total data from 18 participating hospitals were analyzed to be used as current baseline data, which is necessary to optimize blood culture protocols.

Results: Many laboratories included recommended blood volume, which is a major factor for bacteria recovery rate. This varied across participating laboratories. For adults, blood sampling of 10 mL was recommended by 10 laboratories and 20 mL was recommended by 5 laboratories. For children who weighed 14-36 kg and less than 14 kg, blood sampling of 10 mL (n=8) and 5 mL (n=7) was recommended, respectively. For neonates, less than 1 mL was recommended by 12 laboratories.

Conclusion: Substantial variations in blood culture protocols were seen across participating clinical microbiology laboratories. Efforts to standardize this protocol should be undertaken. (Ann Clin Microbiol 2016;19:97-104)