Australian researchers demonstrated a central line infection prevention bundle could reduce the number of central venous catheters inserted and the number of central line-associated bloodstream infections in babies in a new study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.
The retrospective cohort study was conducted in a Level 5 neonatal intensive care unit at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. The bundles examined in the study encompassed the insertion of the CVC, CVC maintenance, an education program and ongoing surveillance and feedback protocols.
The baseline and intervention groups were comparable in clinical characteristics, but highlighted below are three ways the outcomes of the groups differed.
1. The number of inserted CVCs was much lower in the intervention group than the baseline group, with central line utilization rates of 0.2 and 0.16, respectively.
2. Peripherally inserted CVC dwell time was also lower in the intervention group, at 6 days compared to 7.3 days.
3. CLABSIs were significantly reduced, "predominantly secondary to decreased peripherally inserted CVC-related bloodstream infections," according to the study. The intervention group had 1.2 infections per 1,000 central line-days compared to 11.5 infections per1,000 central line-days in the baseline group.
More articles on catheters and CLABSIs:
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