Definition:
A polymicrobial bloodstream infection (PBSI) is a bloodstream infection in which two or more clinically significant microbial species are present during the same infectious episode. The microorganisms may be isolated from the same blood culture or from separate blood cultures collected within a defined time window, although the exact temporal criteria vary between studies and no universally accepted consensus definition exists. Most definitions exclude contaminants and require that the organisms represent true pathogens associated with the patient’s clinical syndrome.
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