CDC Dialysis Collaborative Halves Vascular-Access Bloodstream Infections

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Dialysis Bloodstream Infection Prevention Collaborative has cut overall bloodstream infections in 17 outpatient dialysis facilities by 32% and bloodstream infections related to vascular access by 54%, reports a May 13, 2013, CDC press release. The nine core interventions of the collaborative are performing monthly surveillance using the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), observing hand hygiene, observing catheter access and care, training staff on infection control practices and performing ongoing competency evaluations, educating patients and families on infection control, reducing catheter use as much as possible, using an alcohol-based chlorhexidine (>0.5%) solution for skin antisepsis during central-line insertion and dressing changes, scrubbing catheter hubs with an appropriate antiseptic after the cap is removed and before access, and applying antibiotic or povidone-iodine ointment to catheter exit sites during dressing changes. As described in a study in press in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, NHSN data reported by the dialysis facilities before implementation of the interventions was compared with data reported after implementation and consistent use. According to the press release, a dialysis patient is more than 100 times as likely to get a bloodstream infection from a common resistant bacteria as other people.