​Stickers used to differentiate between arterial and intravenous (IV) lines may become potential reservoirs of catheter colonization, concludes a study published in the November 2014 issue of the American Journal of Infection Control. The researchers exposed a set of 30 stickers used for IV identification to low-, medium-, and high-contamination degrees for up to 15 days. To simulate daily handling, a single manipulator vigorously touched the surface of the stickers twice per day. The data indicated that the time to colonization was shorter for high-manipulation models (three days or longer) but longer for low- and medium-manipulation models (five days or longer). Furthermore, high-manipulation models performed on the nonadhesive side of the stickers recovered significantly greater numbers of colony forming units when compared with the rest of the experiments. The researchers note that even with no or minimal manipulation, the surfaces of all of the stickers became colonized routinely after three to five days of handling. They suggest that further study is needed to develop specific recommendations to reduce the potential for infection, such as replacing the stickers at least every three to four days in the clinical setting or decolonizing the stickers with antiseptics as part of a daily routine.

HRC Recommends: The severity of many complications of invasive line use may be minimized through frequent monitoring of the patient and the insertion site. Healthcare organizations' infection prevention specialists should review their invasive line care bundles to ensure that IV or arterial line stickers are managed appropriately, either by replacing the stickers or decolonizing them as posited by the authors of the study above.