The real cost of catheter-related bloodstream infections

What is the real cost of vascular access-related complications to your patients and healthcare professionals? It goes beyond what you may see. 

Vascular access is the most common invasive procedure in the world, with up to 90% of hospital inpatients receiving a vascular access device during their stay.¹ It is also one of the most complex, with a multitude of steps, a variety of products used, and a wide range of clinicians handling the procedure across skill levels, departments and therapies.

Beyond delivering the necessary treatment to patients, one of the main objectives for any clinician administering IV therapy is to avoid complications and especially catheter-related bloodstream infections (CR-BSI).

CR-BSIs are one of the most frequent, costly, and potentially life-threatening complications of central venous catheterisation:¹ 

• On average, CR-BSIs in intensive care units cost around €8,000 to €11,000 per patient occurrence.²
• CR-BSIs can increase a patient’s length of stay in hospital by up to 9-14 days,² and may lead to additional treatments and medical or surgical procedures.³

There are several indirect costs to also consider, such as the demands placed on the caregiver’s time³, the impact on a patient’s care due to cancellations or delay of procedures³ and, ultimately, the impact on your hospital performance and reputation. 

In addition to CR-BSIs, many other costly complications may occur due to suboptimal practices and a lack of standardisation in vascular access (VA).  A vast majority can be prevented by improving the practices, products and policies concerning each IV line in your facility. Creating a better VA ecosystem is the key to change.

By championing best practice vascular access care, you can:

• Lower complication rates^4,5
• Redirect nursing time to other aspects of patient care
• Make a tangible difference to patient experience^1,5
• Support healthcare worker safety and efficiency in the workplace

To raise awareness around VA complications, BD is launching a campaign to promote an effective, integrated approach to vascular access care.  This is the first in a series of articles we will be publishing, here on BD IV News. 

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