Abstract
The initial specimen diversion technique (ISDT) was first described by Patton and Schmitt (J. Clin. Microbiol. 48:4501-4503, 2010, doi:10.1128/JCM.00910-10). This study looked at the effect of implementation of the ISDT on blood culture contamination rates at our center. We found a reduction of 30.34% in potential blood culture contaminants.