Bacteremia Following Extraction

The presence of germs in the bloodstream is referred to as bacteremia. Blood cultures are used to identify bacteria in blood. The identification of certain virulent germs in blood (Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi) is of diagnostic value in application to certain diseases. The difficulty arises when the microorganism detected in blood is a usual colonizer of the skin or mucosal membranes, and moreover does not prove positive on a continuous basis in blood cultures. Thus, in a patient with clinical manifestations of disease (e. g. , bacterial endocarditis (BE)), successive blood cultures must be made, with an evaluation of other signs and symptoms in order to establish a precise diagnosis [1]