As a pediatric practitioner, I approach every article on bacteremia in the outpatient setting with high hopes that this presentation will solve all my problems in this area. In the welter of data presented by McCarthy et al. (Pediatrics 57:861, June 1976), I was most dismayed by the cost of proper identification of organisms. The figure of $6.40 per blood culture presumably refers to the cost to the hospital for bottles bought in large volume.