Bacteriological study of central line and Foleys catheter in surgical patients

Abstract

Objectives: The objectives were to determine the incidence of bacterial colonisation and catheter-related infection on the central line and Foley’s tip in surgical patients and to evaluate the risk factors for the same. Materials and methods: One hundred and five patients above the age of 18 years were admitted to the surgical ICU and patients who underwent elective or emergency surgical procedures, who have a central line and Foleys catheter inserted were included. Patient details were recorded under the following parameters: age, sex, diagnosis, surgery performed, number of days of central line and Foley’s catheterization, presence of shock, fever, neutropenia, total parenteral nutrition (TPN) and blood transfused via central line, the culture of central line and catheter tip. Result: Bacterial colonisation on central venous catheter occurred in 31(29.5%) patients, on Foleys catheter in 28(26.7%) patients and on both catheters occurred in four(3.8%) patients. Three(2.9%) patients were found to have a central venous catheter-associated infection and 16(15.2%) patients were found to have Foleys catheter-related infection. Neutropenia, TPN and blood transfused through the central line were found to be risk factors for colonisation of organisms on the central line with an odds ratio of 4.62, 11.5, and 2.53 respectively. The presence of shock was found to reduce the risk of colonisation on the central line with an odds ratio of 0.28. The risk factors associated with colonisation on Foleys catheter were patients being in shock and duration of catheterization of more than three days with an odds ratio of 2.53 and 8.19 respectively. The most common organism cultured from a central venous catheter was Candida species, and that cultured from Foleys catheter was E. coli. Conclusion: Central line and Foleys catheter-related infections are quite prevalent among surgical patients and recognising their risk factors is necessary for preventing them.