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Published on: March 22, 2024
Central venous catheter tip colonization and associated bloodstream infection in patients with severe burns under
Kibum Jeon1, Seung Beom Han2, Dohern Kym3
1Infection Prevention and Control Unit, Hallym University Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Laboratory Medicine, Hallym University Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Background:
Although routine changing of central venous catheters (CVCs) is commonly performed in patients with severe burns, information on pathogen colonization of the CVC tip and associated bloodstream infections (BSIs) is limited in those patients.
Methods:
The medical records of 214 patients with severe burns who underwent routine CVC changing at 7-day intervals and their results of 686 pairs of CVC tips and concurrent blood cultures were retrospectively reviewed to evaluate the CVC colonization rate and associated BSI pathogens.
Results:
Of the 686 CVCs, 137 (20.0%) were colonized by pathogens, and 81 (59.1%) of them had BSIs caused by the same pathogen. Nonflame burn (P = .002), total body surface area burn ≥30% (P = .004), femoral catheterization (P = .001), CVC changing during pre-existing BSI (P < .001), and renal replacement therapy (P = .017) were associated with catheter-related BSI in the multivariate analysis. Most BSIs were caused by Gram-negative bacteria (most commonly Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa).
Conclusions:
The CVC colonization rate in patients with severe burns and routine CVC changing was not high. Lengthening the CVC duration might be attempted in patients at a lower risk of catheter-related BSI although further prospective studies are necessary.
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