Blood Culture & Sensitivity Test in Kathmandu

About this test

When bacteria or yeast escape into the bloodstream — a condition called bacteraemia or septicaemia — they cannot be seen on ordinary blood tests, and a blood culture is the only reliable way to catch them. We draw blood under strict sterile conditions and incubate it in special nutrient bottles; if any organism grows over the following days, the laboratory identifies exactly which bacterium or fungus is responsible and then performs sensitivity testing to show which antibiotics will kill it and which it resists. This second half, the sensitivity report, is what allows your doctor to switch from a broad guess to a precisely targeted drug. A doctor orders it when there is a high or swinging fever with rigors (shaking chills), a suspected serious infection of the heart valves, bones, lungs or urinary tract, or signs of sepsis such as a racing pulse, low blood pressure and confusion. In Nepal it is a cornerstone in the work-up of prolonged fever, where enteric fever (typhoid and paratyphoid caused by Salmonella) remains extremely common during and after the monsoon — and where growing resistance to older antibiotics makes the sensitivity result genuinely lifesaving. Because organisms are often few and intermittent, two or three separate samples from different sites are usually requested, and results take up to seventy-two hours since the bottles must be watched for slow-growing germs. It is interpreted alongside your white-cell count, CRP or procalcitonin, and the overall clinical picture, with any growth always weighed against the possibility of skin-contaminant bacteria.

Sample type

Blood (collected into aerobic and anaerobic culture bottles)

Preparation

No fasting required. It is best to give the sample before the first dose of antibiotics, ideally while your temperature is rising or you are having a chill — please tell us if you have already started any antibiotic.

Turnaround time

Reports for Blood Culture & Sensitivity are typically ready within: 72 Hours. Reports can be collected at the clinic during opening hours or shared via WhatsApp once they are ready.

Also known as

Other microbiology tests we run

These are routinely ordered alongside Blood Culture & Sensitivity or as part of the same diagnostic workup.

How to book

WhatsApp is the fastest way — message us with the test name and your preferred time, and we'll confirm a slot the same day. You can also walk into the clinic at Rumba Chowk, Sanobharang any day between 7AM and 8PM, or fill in our online booking form.