For National Apprenticeship Week 2026, we meet Veneta Simitchieva, a Level 3 Apprentice in Cellular Pathology who is juggling her career, a degree, and being a mum to an 11-year-old. She shares her story of pursuing professional registration and the unique rewards of her role.
Blood culture
| Category | Bacteriology Medical Microbiology |
|---|---|
| Reporting frequency | Negative - 5 days. Up to 21 days for extended culture |
Additional information
Blue top – Aerobic (BD BACTEC Plus Aerobic/F, Purple top – Anaerobic- BD BACTEC Lytic/10 Anaerobic/F, Paediatric BD BACTEC Peds Plus/F (Pink top)
Aerobic blood culture. Prior to inoculation, disinfect the culture botle top, label the bottle with patient’s details without covering the barcode. Inoculate the bottle with between 8-10ml of the fluid; paediatric samples – inoculate the bottle with between 1-5ml of blood or send any sample you manage to obtain regardless of volume. After inoculation, disinfect the bottle top. Anaerobic culture; likely severe anaerobic infections on ITU; abdominal infections; deep abdominal abscesses; skin and soft tssue infections (particularly necrotising fasciitis); pelvic gynaecological infections; Severe throat infections: Lemierre’s syndrome; Immunosuppressed haematology/oncology patients; investigation of PUO
Lab Tests Online UK
Lab Tests Online - UK is a website written by practising laboratory doctors and scientists to help you understand the many clinical laboratory tests that are used in diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of disease.
- Search Tests