Extending infusion set replacement intervals to preserve resources and reduce waste

Abstract

In an audit in 2015 of European intensive care units, central venous access was used in 70·7 per 100 patient days,1 and is also widely used in other clinical settings. It remains associated with considerable risks, in particular systemic infection, which can be severe and even lethal. In clinical studies, the most widely reported metric of this complication among patients is the number of catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) per 1000 catheter days. In prospective studies across a range of clinical settings, reported rates are typically in the range of 1·0–2·7 CRBSI per 1000 central venous catheter days.