[Community- and hospital-acquired bacteremia: a retrospective study in a regional hospital. I. Epidemiologic aspects].

Data on all blood cultures from patients admitted to the Ivrea-Castellamonte Hospital (Turin, Italy) from June 1986 to September 1989 were collected and processed in a retrospective study of the quantity of cultures prepared in the hospital as a whole and per department, the percentage of culture positivity and the incidence of bacteremias. The results were: 1) mean incidence of cultures: 12.37 per 1000 patients, increasing through the period; almost 2/3 of the cultures were requested by the three medical division; 2) positivity 21.2%; 3) incidence of bacteremias: 3 per 1000 patients. These findings are critically compared with others obtained both in Italy and abroad (United States, United Kingdom, South Africa), and it is suggested that the increased request for cultures observed should lead to an increase in the number of bacteremias diagnosed.