Cost control of therapy for i.v. catheter infections

Intravenous catheter sepsis is an important challenge for physicians because it is associated with a high incidence of complications, and treatment can be very costly. Significant complications occur in about 25% of cases and include septic shock, suppurative thrombophlebitis, metastatic infection, and endocarditis. The risk of such complications is increased when catheter removal or appropriate antibiotic therapy is delayed, when Staphylococcus aureus is the pathogen, and probably when a prosthetic heart valve or pulmonary artery catheter is present. The optimum duration of antibiotic therapy for intravenous catheter sepsis has not been established and depends on the pathogen and on the presence of other risk factors for complications. A treatment duration of 1 week may be adequate for pathogens, such as coagulase-negative staphylococci or Candida, that are unlikely to cause complications, while > or = 2 weeks of antibiotic therapy is warranted for S aureus. Recent approaches that may help to reduce costs include shortening the duration of parenteral antibiotic treatment either by giving oral agents for part of the treatment period or by using a synergistic combination of antibiotics. Also, for infections in subcutaneously tunneled catheters, intraluminal administration of small volumes of highly concentrated antibiotics often is an effective alternative to prolonged systemic antibiotic therapy.