Bloodstream Infection Paper

Bloodstream infections are a common outcome for individuals who have a central line catheter. A catheter-associated bloodstream infection is very serious, but most of the time is can be treated successfully with antibiotics. It is known that bloodstream infections cost healthcare systems millions of dollars and results in thousands of patient deaths each year, yet most of these infections are preventable. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a report in 2000 and noted that a central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) was an avoidable medical error, and since then they have been studied and looked at very closely (Kohn, Corrigan & Donaldson, 2000).
There are multiple risk factors that can contribute to a CLABSI. These include, …show more content…
A CLABSI is know as a primary laboratory confirmed infection in the bloodstream, in patients with a central line catheter at the time of (or within 48-hours prior to) the onset of symptoms and the infection is not related to an infection from another site (CDC, n.d.) Of the approximately 249,000 bloodstream infections that occur in hospital each year, 32.2% occur in intensive care units (ICU). Since catheters are more frequently used in intensive care units, and the predictor of developing a CLABSI is the presence of a central line, the epidemiology of CLABSIs has traditionally focused on the critically ill in these setting (Chopra V, Krein SL, Olmsted RN, et al., 2013), and the use of prevention bundles and checklist has been extensively reviewed, but few studies have addressed CLABSI’s in long-term care hospitals. Long-term acute care hospitals (LTACH) treat patients that have chronic critical illnesses and usually arrive with a central-line already in place. Since placement decisions are typically not made at these locations, CLABSI prevention practices are more focused on line maintenance and removal (Grigonis et. al.,