Incidence rate and risk factors of central line-associated bloodstream infections among neonates and children admitted to a tertiary care university hospital

The impact of central line bundles on the timing of catheter-associated bloodstream infections and their microbiological distribution in critically ill children

Catheter-associated bloodstream infection, also known as CLABSI, is the most serious consequence of central venous access devices. These infections increase the risk of mortality and morbidity. The use of central line bundles in clinical settings is increasing worldwide with the purpose of lowering the risk of catheter-associated bloodstream infections. In this study, we investigated the effect of implementing a central line bundle for the prevention of CLABSIs, the distribution of pathogens, and the duration of time it took for CLABSIs to develop in patients who had subclavian-inserted central venous catheters. This research project was a cross-sectional study investigation carried out in a pediatric tertiary teaching hospital. Participants consisted of children who had been admitted to the pediatric critical care unit with subclavian catheters during a period of 13 years. We compared the prebundle period with the bundle period for CLABSI specifically focusing on the time to infection, the number of polymicrobial infections, the proportion of Candida parapsilosis, and the percentage of Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS). The "prebundle period" included the period from May 2007 to May 2013, and the "bundle period" included the period from June 2013 to June 2020. Throughout the course of the study, a total of 286 cases of CLABSI were documented. Among these patients, 141 (49.3%) had CLABSIs associated with subclavian catheters. During the prebundle period, 55 CLABSIs were diagnosed in 5235 central line days, with an overall rate of 10.5 CLABSIs per 1000 central line days; after the implementation of central line bundle, 86 CLABSIs were diagnosed in 12,450 CL days, with an overall rate of 3.6 CLABSIs per 1000 CL days. This showed a statistically significantly lower rate in the bundle period (p = 0.0126). In the prebundle period, the mean time to develop CLABSI was 15 days, whereas during the bundle period, the mean time to develop CLABSI was 27.9 days, a significantly longer time to onset (p = 0.001). While the percentage of other microorganisms was not statistically different between the prebundle and bundle periods (p > 0.05), the percentage of C. parapsilosis was significantly higher in the prebundle period (p = 0.001).   Conclusion: The results of this study imply that the use of central line bundles not only reduces the incidence of CLABSI but also delays the time to which CLABSI patients acquire an infection. In addition, as a direct consequence of the CLB, the number of CLABSIs caused by gram-positive cocci did not increase, while the proportion of CLABSIs caused by C. parapsilosis decreased. What is Known: • The most significant negative consequence of central venous access devices is catheter-associated bloodstream infections. • "Care bundles" for CLABSI prevention have been reported to reduce the CLABSI rate. What is New: • Consider what would happen if the "Care bundle" failed to prevent CLABSI. • The findings of this study imply that using central line bundles not only reduces the risk of CLABSI but also extends the time it takes for patients to develop CLABSI. While the number of CLABSIs caused by gram-positive cocci did not increase as a direct result of CLB, the rate of CLABSIs caused by C. parapsilosis, which has recently become a major problem, has decreased.

Administering Parenteral Nutrition in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Logistics, Existing Challenges, and a Few Conundrums

Use of parenteral nutrition (PN) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) requires evaluating the need for central venous catheters, potential drug incompatibilities, unintentional exposures, and suboptimal energy and nutrient intake during the transition to full enteral nutrition. Risks of photooxidation reactions in PN components, refeeding syndrome, and excess early amino acid intake should prompt the reevaluation of routine practices. The goal of this paper is to review the practicalities, challenges, and conundrums of administering PN in the NICU.

Clinical Impacts and Risk Factors for Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection: A Systematic Review

Background A central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) is defined as a primary bloodstream infection (BSI) in a patient that had a central line within the 48-hour period before the development of the BSI and is not bloodstream-related to an infection at another site. CLABSI is a common healthcare-associated infection and a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Methods This systematic review included studies published within the past 13 years that examined risk factors and clinical impact variables associated with CLABSI, using the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)/National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) criteria for defining catheter-associated infection, and included participants of all ages. The terms "CLABSI," "central line-associated bloodstream infection," "risk factors," "predictors," "morbidity," "mortality," "healthcare costs," and "length of hospital stay" were used to find relevant publications on PubMed/Medline, Google Scholar, and Science Direct. The quality assessment of the included publications utilized the modified Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS) for observational studies. Results After the full-text screening, we identified 15 articles that met our inclusion and exclusion criteria. The majority of these studies were of good quality and had a low risk of bias based on our bias assessment. The studies included a total of 32,198 participants and covered a time period from 2010 to 2023. The mean age of the male patients included in the studies ranged from 0.1 months to 69.1 years. All of the included studies were either observational cohort studies, cross sectional studies, case-control studies, or case reports. The major study parameters/outcomes extracted were risk factors, CLABSI-associated mortality, hospital cost, length of hospital stay, and catheter days. With respect to predisposing factors, multilumen access catheters were identified as risk factors in three studies, use of more than one central venous catheter per case in four studies, hematologic malignancy in three studies, catheterization duration in four studies, surgical complexity in four studies, length of ICU stays in three studies, and parenteral nutrition in two studies. Conclusion The decision to place a venous device should be carefully considered by evaluating individual risk factors for the development of CLABSI. This is important due to the potential for severe clinical consequences and significant healthcare expenses associated with this complication.

Central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) with three different vascular access in neonatal intensive care unit

Background

Central venous catheters (CVCs) are a mandatory aspect in the neonatal intensive care units. Unfortunately, bloodstream infection is a frequent complication of CVCs. A needleless connector is attached to the end of CVC to allow infusion of fluids. We aimed to assess the effect of needleless connectors on central line-associated blood stream infection, and to assess rate of occurrence of bloodstream infection with the use of three different types of venous access in neonates.

Methods

This study is a prospective, randomized, comparative study which was held at the Neonatal Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University. The study recruited 120 neonates who were categorized into three groups according to the type of inserted CVC: group A with umbilical venous catheter, group B with peripherally inserted central catheter, and group C with non-tunneled central venous catheter, and each group was further subdivided into two groups according to the use of needleless connector. Criteria of central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) and central line-related bloodstream infection (CLRBSI) were applied.

Results

The study included 120 neonates, a multivariable logistic regression analysis was held for two predictors (type of CVC and use of needleless connector) of CLABSI/CLRBSI, it revealed that the use of needleless connector was associated with significant lower incidence of CLABSI/CLRBSI (P value < 0.05, adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.303), the use of peripheral inserted central catheter (PICC) was also associated with the lowest incidence of CLABSI/CLRBSI (P value = 0.015, aOR = 0.284). Another multivariable logistic regression analysis was done for four predictors (type of CVC, use of needleless connector, gestational age, and catheter dwell time) which revealed that the gestational age (P value = 0.001, aOR = 0.691) and catheter dwell time (P value = 0.004, aOR = 1.313) were the only independent predictors for the occurrence of CLABSI/CLRBSI.

Conclusion

The use of needleless connector can lower the incidence of CLABSI/CLRBSI, PICC line was associated with the lowest incidence of CLABSI/CLRBSI among the three types of CVCs. Low gestational age and long catheter dwell time were found to be the main risk factors for increasing the incidence of CLABSI/CLRBSI.