Utility of blood cultures in the management of adults with community acquired pneumonia discharged from the emergency department.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To assess the clinical value of blood cultures (BCs) in the management of adult patients discharged from the emergency department (ED) with a diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia (CAP). METHODS The courses of antibiotic regimens and outcomes of patients with positive BC results were examined to assess their influence on BCs. RESULTS BCs were obtained from 289 outpatients. Six clinically significant organisms were identified (a yield of 2.1%). Outpatients with CAP who had blood cultures performed had a 0.69% (2 of 289) chance of having a change of treatment directed by the results of the culture. CONCLUSION BCs have little utility in the ambulatory management of CAP.