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An inside look at intravenous therapy in Europe

Around 50%

of post-insertion catheter-related infections are considered to be caused by colonisation of the catheter hubs and needle-free connectors, through subsequent bacterial ingress into the catheter lumen.¹

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend disinfecting clean skin using a > 0.5% chlorhexidine solution with alcohol before inserting a central venous catheter (CVCs) or peripheral arterial catheter and when changing catheter dressings². The use of disinfecting caps with a 70% IPA solution on needle-free connectors has been associated with a significant reduction in CLABSI³.

1. Moureau NL, Flynn J. Disinfection of Needleless Connector Hubs: Clinical Evidence Systematic Review. Nurs Res Pract. 2015;2015:796762. doi: 10.1155/2015/796762.

2. O'Grady NP, Alexander M, Burns LA, et al. Guidelines for the Prevention of Intravascular Catheter-related Infections. Clin Infect Dis. 2011;52(9):e162-193. doi: 10.1093/cid/cir25710.1093/cid/cir257. 3. Sweet MA, Cumpston A, Briggs F, Craig M, Hamadani M. Impact of alcohol-impregnated port protectors and needleless neutral pressure connectors on central line-associated bloodstream infections and contamination of blood cultures in an inpatient oncology unit. Am J Infect Control. 2012;40(10):931-934. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2012.01.025. This list of references to third party peer reviewed material and the sites they are hosted on are provided for your reference and convenience only, and do not imply any review or endorsement of the material or any association with their operators.  The Third Party References (and the Web sites to which they link) may contain information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated. Your access and use of the Third Party Sites (and any Web sites to which they link) is solely at your own risk.