The laboratory of a local healthcare facility has reported an increase in blood culture contamination within the burn ICU. Which of the following best practices should the infection preventionist (IP) share with the unit's leadership team?

• A. Perform hand hygiene with 70% alcohol or chlorhexidine gluconate before collecting blood culture specimens.
• B. Use sterile gloves only.
• C. Disinfect the skin with iodine after collecting the sample.
• D. Ignore contamination as an inherent issue.

Answer: (A)

Preventing blood culture contamination relies on proper aseptic technique right at the moment of collection, starting with hand hygiene. When staff perform hand hygiene with a 70% alcohol-based solution or chlorhexidine gluconate before drawing blood, the risk of transferring skin flora or environmental microbes into the specimen is significantly reduced. This simple, high-impact step is easy to implement across the unit, supports measurable improvements in contamination rates, and provides leadership with a clear, actionable practice to adopt and monitor. Other options miss the key moment of potential contamination (the draw itself) or address steps that don’t meaningfully reduce contamination risk—disinfecting after collection doesn’t prevent contamination during collection, and gloves alone or ignoring the issue don’t tackle the root cause.