Introduction:

Blood culture is a simple test, but there is a risk of contamination due to an inadequate procedure, which many times can be related to malpractice of the nursing personnel.

Objective:

To assess the level of knowledge about the blood culture extraction technique in nurses of an intensive care unit.

Methods:

A descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out in the intensive care unit of the National Center for Minimal Access Surgery, Havana, in January 2021. The population consisted of twelve registered nurses. A knowledge questionnaire was applied, which included the following scoring scale: 0-30 points (no knowledge), 31-60 points (little knowledge), 61-90 points (adequate knowledge), 91-100 points (excellent knowledge). Absolute frequencies, percentage, T-test for one sample and chi-square were calculated. The program IBM SPSS (version 20) for Windows was used.

Results:

Of the sample studied, 41.70 % considered that blood culture is performed on febrile patients and the use of sterile gloves as the only means of protection. 33.30 % referred alcohol as the skin antiseptic of choice. 58.30 % stated that test tube or flask inoculation is completed with 10 mL of blood. 66.70 % stated that the technique should start with the aerobic. The average overall score was 64.25.

Conclusions:

Nursing professionals showed adequate knowledge. Sterile gloves were the most used means of protection. The use of 76 %-alcohol for skin disinfection is relevant. The volume of blood to empty into the flask or sample tube is 10 mL. The protocols for sample preservation and transport are followed.

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