RESUMEN
Central venous [CV] catheters play an essential role in the management of critically ill patients in the Intensive Care Unit [ICU].CV lines are, however, allied to catheter-associated blood stream infections. Bacterial colonization of CV lines is deemed the main cause of catheter-associated infection. The purpose of our study was to compare bacterial colony counts in the catheter site before CV line insertion in two groups of post-cardiac surgery patients: a group receiving Sanosil [an antiseptic agent composed of H[2]O[2] and silver] and a control group. This interventional prospective double-blinded clinical trial recruited the patients in three post-cardiac surgery ICUs of a heart center. The participants were divided into interventional [113 patients] and control [136 patients] groups. Sanosil was added to the routine preparation procedure [Chlorhexidine bath one day before and scrub with Povidone-Iodine just before the CV line insertion]. After the removal of the CV lines, the catheters tips were sent for culture and evaluation of colony counts. Catheter colonization occurred in 55 [22.1%] patients: 26 [23%] patients in the Sanosil group and 29 [21.3%] in the control group; there was no significant statistical difference between the two groups [p value = 0.75, RR = 1.05, 95%CI: 0.76-1.45]. The most common organism having colonized in the cultures of the catheter tips was staphylococcus epidermis: 20 cases in the control group and 16 cases in the intervention group. Catheter colonization frequently occurs in post-cardiac surgery patients. However, our results did not indicate the effectiveness of adding Sanosil to the routine preparation procedure with respect to reducing catheter bacterial colonization