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Antimicrobial impregnated catheters reduce BSI
Recent data suggest the use of catheters impregnated with either second-generation chlorhexidine-silver sulfadiazine or rifampicin-miconazole could reduce the incidence of catheter-related bloodstream infections.
“Current international guidelines for the prevention of intravascular catheter-related infection recommend the use of [chlorhexidine-silver sulfadiazine (CHSS)]–impregnated or minocycline-rifampicin–impregnated catheters in patients whose catheter is expected to remain in place more than 5 days and if the [catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI)] rate has not decreased after implementation of a comprehensive strategy to reduce it,” the researchers wrote. “We think that CHSS- or [rifampicin-miconazole (RM)]-impregnated catheters could decrease the risk of CRBSI overall in patients with a higher risk of CRBSI, such as those with a femoral venous access.”
The researchers retrospectively studied ICU patients who received at least one femoral venous catheter at a Spanish hospital. Patients received either a standard catheter, a second-generation CHSS-impregnated catheter or a RM-impregnated catheter, as determined by the patient’s physician. Incidence of and patient-time with CRBSI was then compared between patient groups.
The analysis included 641 patients who received at least one catheter. There were 18 CRBSIs diagnosed among 245 patients with standard catheters, but no CRBSIs among the 169 patients with CHSS-impregnated catheters or the 227 patients with RM-impregnated catheters. As a result, standard catheters were associated with increased incidence of CRBSI (P < .001) and lower CRBSI-free time (P < .001) than both of the antimicrobial-impregnated catheters.
“We found that second-generation CHSS-impregnated catheters and RM-impregnated catheters showed a lower risk of CRBSI than standard catheters, and we did not find differences in the CRBSI incidence between second-generation CHSS-impregnated and RM-impregnated catheters,” the researchers wrote. – by Dave Muoio
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.