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Updated: Feb 11, 2026

A Protocol to Set Up Needle-Free Connector with Positive Displacement on Central Venous Catheter in Intensive Care Unit
Published on: July 13, 2019
Central venous catheter infections in outpatients with pulmonary hypertension treated with continuous iloprost
Stephan Keusch1, Rudolf Speich, Ulla Treder
1Clinic for Pulmonology, Heart-Vessel-Thorax Department, Zurich, Switzerland.
Background:
Intravenous prostanoid therapy is one cornerstone of therapy for patients with pre-capillary pulmonary hypertension (PH). Long-term central venous catheters expose patients to infectious complications.
Objectives:
We report the incidence of catheter-related infection (CRI) and the spectrum of bacteria for ambulatory PH patients treated with iloprost via non-tunnelled central venous catheters from our Swiss referral centre in Zurich.
Methods:
Data from 15 PH patients treated with intravenous iloprost between May 2000 and June 2012 were reviewed.
Results:
We found 11 CRI in 4 cases by two different organisms. Pathogens found were Brevibacterium (55%), Micrococcus luteus (18%), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (9%) and Staphylococcus aureus (9%), as well as unusual organisms such as Agrobacterium tumefaciens or Delftia tsuruhatensis. The overall CRI rate was 1.28 per 1,000 catheter days, or 0.47 per year.
Conclusions:
The incidence of CRI using long-term, non-tunnelled central venous catheters in PH patients treated with iloprost is low. Uncommon, rare pathogens causing CRI were found in a substantial number of patients.
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