All You should know about a Blood Culture Test
Do you know that a blood culture test helps the doctor to know whether you have any kind of infection in your bloodstream? Well, there is a possibility that it can affect the entire body and doctors call this as systemic infection. This test takes your blood sample to check for yeast or bacteria that may cause the infection.
Reasons you need to conduct blood culture test
If the doctor who conducts private blood tests in London orders you for this test, this means you may have systemic infection and they need to check for certain kinds of germs in the blood. It may help them to choose the right treatment plan for you.
Your doctor may order the test when you have symptoms that include:
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Fever or chills
- Peeing less often than normal
- Faster heart rate or breathing
- Confusion
If the infection is very severe, you may have:
- Inflammation in different body parts
- Serious drop in the pressure level
- Small blood clots forming in the small blood vessels
- Failure of organ
What happens during blood culture test?
A phlebotomist cleans your skin and then inserts a needle into the vein for your blood draw. The method need to be repeated with another vein in order to attain the most accurate results.
Your blood samples will be combined together with special material known as culture at the laboratory. It can help yeast or bacteria to grow when they are already present in the blood.
You may get the results early within 24 hours after conducting the blood tests. But you may have to wait for 48 to 72 hours for knowing about the type of bacteria or yeast which is causing the infection. You might need to perform other tests too, when required.
What will the test results denote?
Your doctor will tell about “positive” and “negative” results. When the result is “positive” on the blood culture test, it generally means there is the presence of yeast or bacteria in the blood. On the other hand, “negative” means they are not there in your blood.
When two or more of your blood cultures provide positive result for the same kind of fungi or bacteria, it is possible that this is the type of yeast or bacteria causing your infection. An infection in your blood can be serious and you require immediate treatment.
What can happen when the test results are positive and negative?
If either of the blood culture tests gives positive result and the other provides negative result, it could mean you are having an infection. But it may even mean that either of these blood samples had been contaminated with bacteria from your skin. The doctor may order for more tests or require further information before making a diagnosis.
When you re-test and both the blood culture tests provide negative results, you probably do not have any infection in the caused from yeast or bacteria. But if you continue to have these symptoms, you might require conducting further tests.
Why do you have symptoms if the test results are negative?
There are some reasons for it. Certain kinds of yeast and bacteria are really difficult to grow in a culture and so, you may need to get special type of culture.
Also, these cultures do not detect any viruses. Thus, if you are having a viral infection, you may have to perform other tests.
It is advisable that you talk to the doctor and know about blood culture test price so that you can conduct it within your budget.
