Detection and prevention of central venous catheter-related infections.

Infectious complications of central venous catheterization are an important clinical problem. Although systemic infection complicates only a small fraction of cases, the prevalence of catheter-related sepsis remains high because of the widespread use of these catheters in acutely ill hospitalized patients. The major route of infection is probably by migration of microorganisms from the skin along the outer surface of the catheter and through the subcutaneous catheter tract to the bloodstream. Semi-quantitative catheter tip cultures have become a standard clinical tool for the evaluation for catheter-related infection. Despite the use of this technique and a variety of other proposed methods for evaluating catheter colonization and infection, discriminating catheter-related sepsis from sepsis originating at another site is often difficult. Prevention of these infections is important. There have been many investigations of the factors that contribute to catheter infections. These studies have shown that meticulous attention to sterile technique during catheter insertion and during routine maintenance is critical.