Targeting prolonged short-term central venous catheters to reduce hospital-wide catheter days and CLABSI rates

Background: The risk of central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) is associated with central venous catheter (CVC) dwelling time. We implemented a hospital-wide intervention aimed to alert physicians to CVC duration and necessity and to improve the monitoring of CLABSI prevention process measures outside the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: A retrospective, before-after study that evaluated short-term, nonhemodialysis CVCs in and out of the ICU. The intervention included enhanced bundle-prevention measures monitoring and staff "sensitization" regarding prolonged (> 7 days) CVCs (pCVCs). The ICU intervention also included daily CVC-stewardship visits. We assessed CVC utilizations and CLABSI episodes 20 months before to 19 months after the intervention using Mann-Whitney tests. Results: Out of the ICU, CVC-utilization ratio (CVC-UR) and pCVC-UR reduced significantly (4.1-2.7/100 hospital days, P = .005; and 28%-21%, P = .02, respectively). Bundle-prevention measures improved, and CLABSI rates reduced postintervention (7.9-3.6/1,000 CVC days, P = .03). In the ICU, pCVC-UR reduced significantly (29%-15%, P < .0001). Baseline ICU-CLABSI rates were low and did not reduce postintervention. Conclusions: Sensitizing physicians to the existence and duration of CVCs accompanied by improved bundle-prevention measures, resulted in reduction of pCVCs, and outside the ICU, also in reduction of CVC-UR and CLABSI rates. (c) 2024 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.