Abstract: An Effort to Reduce Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infections

Background: Central-line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) negatively affect patient outcomes and cost the system anywhere from $400 million to $2 billion in additional care. Numerous interventions have been developed to reduce infection rates, but few have sustained results. Deployment of an advanced-practice nurse to perform daily compliance rounds on ICU patients with central lines shows early promise.

Methods: This retrospective, pre-post study explored the effect of daily compliance audits by an APRN in ICUs in a suburban teaching hospital in Northeast Ohio on CLABSI rates. Researchers reviewed the charts of 56 patients with central lines who were hospitalized in an ICU before the intervention was implemented and 63 patients afterward.

Results: There were no significant differences in incidence of CLABSI between the groups; neither had patients who experienced a CLABSI. There was a difference in the maximum number of days patients had a central line; before the intervention it was 28 days but afterward it was 19. There was no statistical significance in the difference in average number of days with a central line between the two groups, however.

Conclusions: More research is needed to understand the potential of this new role in managing patients with central lines.