UPDATE ON DETECTION OF BACTEREMIA AND FUNGEMIA

The presence of microorganisms in a patient's blood is a critical dete rminant of the severity of the patient's illness. Equally important, t he laboratory isolation and identification of a microorganism present in blood determine the etiologic agent of infection, especially when t he site of infection is localized and difficult to access. This review addresses the pathophysiology and clinical characteristics of bactere mia, fungemia, and sepsis; diagnostic strategies and critical factors in the detection of positive blood cultures; characteristics of mutual and instrument approaches to bacteremia detection; approaches for iso lating specific microorganisms associated with positive blood cultures ; and rapid methods for the identification of microorganisms in blood cultures.