Patients with viral respiratory infections often present symptoms compatible with bloodstream infections. Consequently, the winter period commonly associated with epidemic respiratory illnesses shows an increase in the number of blood cultures (BC) and to occasional saturation of automated BC systems. Here, we explored the seasonal variations in BC samples and the potential impact of shortening the incubation time of BC when automated BC systems are close to saturation. A retrospective study was conducted during a 3-year period in 4 hospitals located in the Paris region, France. All aerobic and anaerobic bottles were included, except pediatric bottles and those sampled for suspicion of endocarditis. The number of BC bottles collected during the winter period was compared to the annual baseline. All bottles positive after a 4-day incubation were analyzed regarding clinical and microbiological findings. The number of BC bottles was significantly higher during the winter periods, compared to the annual baseline (up to 14%). A total of 292,349 BC bottles were analyzed with 23,363 (8.0%) positive, including 236 (1%) after a 4-day incubation. Of these 236 bottles, 76 (64.8%) were positive with a contaminant, 78 (33.1%) with a clinically significant microorganism identified for the same patient in the previous 4 days, and only 5 (2.1%) with a clinically significant microorganism not previously identified. Winter periods were associated with a significant increase in BC samples. Shortening the incubation time of BC bottles from 5 to 4 days seems a relevant option when automated BC systems are close to saturation.

病毒性呼吸道感染患者通常表现出与血流感染相符的症状。因此，通常与流行性呼吸系统疾病相关的冬季显示血培养 (BC) 数量增加，并且自动化 BC 系统偶尔会饱和。在这里，我们探讨了 BC 样本的季节性变化以及当自动化 BC 系统接近饱和时缩短 BC 孵化时间的潜在影响。在位于法国巴黎地区的 4 家医院进行了为期 3 年的回顾性研究。所有需氧瓶和厌氧瓶都包括在内，除了儿科瓶和因怀疑心内膜炎采样的瓶。将冬季期间收集的 BC 瓶数与年度基线进行比较。对所有经过 4 天孵育后呈阳性的瓶子进行临床和微生物学发现分析。与年度基线相比，冬季期间 BC 瓶的数量显着增加（高达 14%）。共分析了 292,349 个 BC 瓶，其中 23,363 (8.0%) 个呈阳性，其中 236 (1%) 个在孵育 4 天后呈阳性。在这 236 个瓶子中，76 个 (64.8%) 对污染物呈阳性，78 个 (33.1%) 在前 4 天为同一患者鉴定出具有临床意义的微生物，只有 5 个 (2.1%) 的临床意义微生物没有先前确定。冬季与 BC 样本的显着增加有关。当自动化 BC 系统接近饱和时，将 BC 瓶的孵化时间从 5 天缩短到 4 天似乎是一个相关的选择。