CONTEXT: Blood stream infection (BSI) is a serious clinical condition often associated with morbidity, hospital admission, significant health care costs and sometimes mortality. AIMS: To investigate the correlation between suspected or confirmed BSIs with length of hospital stay (LOS) and cost of health care. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Retrospective study done in a cancer hospital in eastern India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Blood culture from patients admitted was used as a surrogate for suspected or confirmed BSI. Study was done over a 40 day period (in July-August 2015) involving 683 patients. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Welch's unpaired t-test has been used to compare means between data groups. RESULTS: The overall mean LOS, cost of management per patient admission, and all-cause mortality were 5.9 days (range: 0–64 days), Rs. 95,208 (USD 1,413) (range INR 220-27,50,653) and 5.7% (39 out of 683 patients) respectively. The LOS and the average health care costs increased progressively between the following patients cohorts: No blood cultures taken < blood cultures taken but negative < blood cultures taken and positive < blood cultures positive with multi-drug resistant organisms. CONCLUSIONS: The data from this study would be useful to clinicians and hospital administrators, as well as help in counseling patients regarding approximate LOS and cost of health care related to infections.