Paired blood cultures from both peripheral and line growing the same organism supports CLABSI diagnosis
Often only line cultures are available; important to have multiple cultures from the line to help clarify contaminant vs true infection
Timed Collection Growth of microbes from the catheter sample at least 2 hours before growth detected in the peripheral blood sample best defines CLABSI.
Central lines are a foreign body; it is important to obtain multiple cultures from all lumens and peripheral cultures to determine true line infection vs contamination
Many organisms typically considered contaminants for non-line associated bacteremia may actually be responsible for a CLABSI