Rapid diagnosis of central venous catheter sepsis

Signs of infection with a central venous access device in situ raise the possibility of catheter sepsis. We evaluated three tests for diagnosis of infection in infants with suspected catheter sepsis. The acridine orange leucocyte cytospin (AOLC) test was 87% sensitive and 94% specific in the diagnosis of catheter-related sepsis defined by quantitative blood culture. The C-reactive protein and nitroblue tetrazolium tests were not as useful. Using the AOLC results, available in an hour, we now remove fewer catheters on suspicion of sepsis alone.