Although there are widely accepted evidence-based practices for decreasing rates of central-line associated bloodstream infections, including hand hygiene, insertion techniques and root cause analysis, some practices are variable and have limited published evidence to back them up. A new study in Pediatrics has identified additional best practices for the care and maintenance of central venous catheters in order to avoid CLABSIs, leading to a reduction of such infections by 19 percent among 17 participating children's hospitals.
The 17 participating hospitals are part of the Children's Hospitals Neonatal Database, which is the nation's only clinical outcomes database geared toward improving quaternary care for infants in hospital neonatal intensive care units. The study results support a recommendation to incorporate sterile tubing change along with hub care compliance monitoring for further reduction in NICU CLABSI rates, which could reduce infection rates by 1.25 per 1,000 line days, according to the authors.
"We've made progress over the years in reducing the rate of these dangerous and costly infections, but we knew we could do better," Eugenia Pallotto, MD, neonatologist and NICU medical director at Children's Mercy in Kansas City, Mo., said in a statement. "With our novel research collaboration we identified additional best practices that significantly decreased the infection rate."