[Central vascular catheter infection in adult patients from a center of intensive therapy].

This is a Retrospective Descriptive study that describes the profile of adult patients, down in an intensive therapy center of a University hospital in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, that presented infections of central vascular catheter in the year of 2007. There were 43 infections related to catheter with 37 Patients. Of these, 54% male age 58, 6 years old average. Hypothermia was the infectious sign, met in 33 of 37 patients. Infection in another site happened in 86,5% of the cases. The infection rate associated to the catheter was 3,6 per 1.000 catheters a day. The average time between insertion of the catheter and infection 11,8 days. Five patients presented sepsis associated to the catheter 24 received treatment to the infection associated to the catheter 21 died during internment, 12 for septicemia. The high happening of infection in another site and the high death rate show the need of searching efficient strategies to prevent these events.