Bloodstream infection (also known as bacteraemia) may be associated with a portal of entry (for example, the urinary tract, the respiratory tract or vascular lines) but in some situations the source of bloodstream infection is not readily apparent. It is normally associated with fever, rigors and signs of infection at the portal of entry of bacteria into the blood. It is sometimes associated with sepsis. Bloodstream infection is highly significant and is associated with mortality rates of between 10 and 25%.~For some infection types (for example, Staphylococcus aureus) a longer duration of bacteria being present in the blood is linked to higher mortality. With traditional microbiologic techniques, bloodstream infection with gram-negative bacteria is usually quite brief. However, new culture independent bacteraemia detection systems (such as T2 magnetic resonance assay) are more sensitive than traditional blood culture systems and may show that gram-negative bacteraemia is more prolonged in some patients than has previously been thought. This observational study will investigate the correlation between the duration of bloodstream infection using traditional blood culture techniques with:~The T2 magnetic resonance assay, a new culture independent bacteraemia detection system.~Persistence in abnormalities of vital signs.~Persistence in elevation of the white cell count and inflammatory biomarkers.~Persistence in inflammatory biomarkers as measured by the SeptiCyte RAPID test It will also correlate each measure of the duration of bacteraemia with mortality, length of stay and the long-term outcome of a patient.
Infection with bacteria and other germs in the blood can be deadly. How long germs stay in the blood is important for two reasons. The first is that if they stay in the blood for many days it is a sign that antibiotics may need to be changed. The second is that if they stay in the blood for only a short time it may give doctors confidence to switch to tablets and consider early discharge from hospital. This study is evaluating if two new technologies give different results compared to the standard way of detecting germs in the blood.