Chlorhexidine-silver sulfadiazine-impregnated venous catheters are efficient even at subclavian sites without tracheostomy.

BACKGROUND: Chlorhexidine-silver sulfadiazine (CHSS)-impregnated catheters have been found to decrease the risk of catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) and central venous catheter (CVC)-related costs. However, there are no published data about cost-effectiveness of the use of CHSS-impregnated catheters in subclavian venous access without the presence of tracheostomy (thus, with a very low risk of CRBSI). That was the objective of this study. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of patients admitted to a mixed intensive care unit who underwent placement of subclavian venous catheters without the presence of tracheostomy. RESULTS: Patients with standard catheters (n = 747) showed a higher CRBSI incidence density (0.95 vs 0/1,000 catheter-days; P = .02) and higher CVC-related cost per day ($3.78 ± $7.43 vs $3.31 ± $2.72; P < .001) than patients with a CHSS-impregnated catheter (n = 879). Exact logistic regression analysis showed that catheter duration (P = .02) and the type of catheter used (P = .01) were associated with the risk of CRBSI. Kaplan-Meier method showed that CHSS-impregnated catheters were associated with more prolonged CRBSI-free time than standard catheters (log-rank = 9.76; P = .002). Poisson regression analysis showed that CHSS-impregnated catheters were associated with a lower central venous catheter-related cost per day than standard catheters (odds ratio, 0.87; 95% confidence interval, 0.001-0.903; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The use of CHSS-impregnated catheters is an effective and efficient measure for the prevention of CRBSI even at subclavian venous access sites without the presence of tracheostomy.

Efficiency of chlorhexidine-silver sulfadiazine-impregnated venous catheters at subclavian sites.

BACKGROUND: Cost-effectiveness analyses show that chlorhexidine-silver sulfadiazine (CHSS)-impregnated catheters reduce catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) and central venous catheter (CVC)-related costs. However, no studies have reported the efficiency of CHSS-impregnated catheters for venous access when the risk of CRBSI is low; for example, at the subclavian site. This study determined the cost of a CVC, diagnosis of CRBSI, and antimicrobial agents to treat CRBSI; we did not consider the cost of increased hospital stay. METHODS: This retrospective study included patients admitted to the intensive care unit at Hospital Universitario de Canarias (Tenerife, Spain) who had a subclavian venous catheter. RESULTS: Patients with CHSS catheters (n = 353) had a lower incidence density of CRBSI (2.12 vs 0 out of 1,000 catheter-days; P = .02) and lower CVC-related cost per catheter-day (3.35 ± 3.75 vs 3.94 ± 9.95; P = .002) than those with standard catheters (n = 518). CHSS-impregnated catheters were associated with a lower risk of CRBSI (exact logistic regression) (odds ratio, 0.10; 95% confidence interval, -∞ to 0.667; P = .008) than standard catheters when controlling for catheter duration. CHSS-impregnated catheters were also associated with a lower CVC-related cost per catheter day than standard catheters (Poisson regression) (odds ratio, 0.85; 95% confidence interval, 0.001-0.873; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: CHSS-impregnated catheters may be efficient in preventing CRBSI in patients with subclavian venous access.

Chlorhexidine-silver sulfadiazine-impregnated venous catheters save costs.

BACKGROUND: Previous cost-effectiveness analyses have found that the use of chlorhexidine-silver sulfadiazine (CHSS)-impregnated catheters is associated with decreased catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) and central venous catheter (CVC)-related costs. However, in these analyses, the CVC-related cost included the increase of hospital stay. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to determine the immediate CVC-related cost (including only the cost of CVC, diagnosis of CRBSI, and antimicrobials for the treatment of CRBSI) of using a CHSS or a standard catheter in internal jugular venous access. METHODS: We performed a prospective, observational, cohort study of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), Hospital Universitario de Canarias (Tenerife, Spain), who received 1 or more internal jugular venous catheters. RESULTS: The study included 245 CHSS-impregnated catheters and 391 standard catheters. Exact logistic regression analysis showed that CHSS-impregnated catheters were associated with a lower incidence of CRBSI, controlling for catheter duration, than standard catheters (0 vs 5.04 CRBSI per 1,000 catheter-days, respectively; odds ratio, 0.80; 95% confidence interval: 0.712-0.898; P < .001). Poisson regression showed that CHSS-impregnated catheters were associated with lower CVC-related cost per day than standard catheters (€3.78 ± €4.45 vs €7.28 ± €16.71, respectively; odds ratio, 0.52; 95% confidence interval: 0.504-0.535; P < .001). Survival analysis showed that CHSS-impregnated catheters were associated with increased CRBSI-free time compared with standard catheters (χ(2) = 14.9; P < .001). CONCLUSION: The use of CHSS-impregnated catheters reduced the incidence of CRBSI and immediate CVC-related costs in the internal jugular venous access.

Arterial catheter-related infection of 2,949 catheters.

INTRODUCTION: Which particular arterial catheter site is associated with a higher risk of infection remains controversial. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines of 1996 and the latest guidelines of 2002 make no recommendation about which site or sites minimize the risk of catheter-related infection. The objective of the present study was to analyze the incidence of catheter-related local infection (CRLI) and catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) of arterial catheters according to different access sites. METHODS: We performed a prospective observational study of all consecutive patients admitted to the 24 bed medical and surgical intensive care unit of a 650 bed university hospital during three years (1 May 2000 to 30 April 2003). RESULTS: A total of 2,018 patients was admitted to the intensive care unit during the study period. The number of arterial catheters, the number of days of arterial catheterization, the number of CRLIs and the number of CRBSIs were as follows: total, 2,949, 17,057, 20 and 10; radial, 2,088, 12,007, 9 and 3; brachial, 112, 649, 0 and 0; dorsalis pedis, 131, 754, 0 and 0; and femoral, 618, 3,647, 11 and 7. The CRLI incidence was significantly higher for femoral access (3.02/1,000 catheter-days) than for radial access (0.75/1,000 catheter-days) (odds ratio, 1.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-2.13; P = 0.01). The CRBSI incidence was significantly higher for femoral access (1.92/1,000 catheter-days) than for radial access (0.25/1,000 catheter-days) (odds ratio, 1.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-3.41; P = 0.009). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that a femoral site increases the risk of arterial catheter-related infection.

Prolonged intubation rates after coronary artery bypass surgery and ICU risk stratification score.

OBJECTIVE: To determine prolonged intubation rates among patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, and to evaluate the ability of the Intensive Care Unit Risk Stratification Score (ICURSS) model to predict these events. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: A 24-bed ICU in a tertiary referral university hospital. PATIENTS: Five hundred sixty-nine patients undergoing CABG surgery. INTERVENTIONS: Variables of the ICURSS model were recorded at ICU admission. Extubation was performed according to a standard protocol. Patients remaining intubated within 8 h after ICU admission were designated as having early extubation failure (EEF). The next evaluations at 16, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h designated patients as having a prolonged intubation period (PIP) and prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) for 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. The ability of the ICURSS model to predict extubation failure at different cutoff values was measured using the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Prolonged intubation rates were as follows: EEF, 40.2%; PIP, 17.2%; PMV for 24 h, 10.4%; PMV for 48 h, 7.6%; PMV for 72 h, 6.5%; and PMV for 96 h, 6.0%. At every cutoff, the ICURSS showed poor discrimination to predict the failure to be extubated. Calibration was also poor, although some ability to predict both EEF and PMV at > or = 48 h was shown. CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged intubation rates after undergoing CABG surgery in our setting were comparable with those of other reports from institutions where fast-track cardiac anesthesia is currently in practice. In our cohort, the ICURSS was not useful for the prediction of length of intubation.