Peer tutoring is an effective way to implement central line-associated bloodstream infection prevention bundles, helping reduce CLABSI rates, according to a study published in Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control.
Researchers studied the effects of CLABSI prevention bundles in a surgical intensive care unit at a tertiary hospital. The insertion and maintenance CLABSI prevention bundles were implemented by active educational programs using peer tutoring. The researchers examined CLABSI rates 9 months pre-intervention, 6 months during the intervention and 9 months post-intervention.
Researchers found the rate of CLABSIs per 1000 catheter-days decreased from 6.9 infections in the pre-intervention period to 2.4 in the intervention phase and 1.8 in the post-intervention phase.
Additionally, there was a significantly decreasing trend in infection rate from the pre-intervention period, from 0.348 in the intervention period to 0.257 in the post-intervention period.
After the 9-month post-intervention period, the yearly CLABSI rates reverted to 3.0 to 5.4 infections per 1000 catheter-days over the next three years.
"Maintaining the reduced CLABSI rate will require further strategies," researchers concluded.