Sustained low catheter related infection (CRI) incidence in an observational follow-up study of 9924 catheters using automated data scripts as quality assurance for central venous catheter (CVC) management

Background: To maintain a low incidence of Catheter Related Infections (CRI) and Catheter Related Bloodstream Infections (CRBSI), continuous follow-up studies on catheter management are necessary. The aims of the present study were to investigate the incidence of catheter tip colonisation, CRI and CRBSI in the Region, to further explore the feasibility of automatic data collection and to investigate associations between independent variables and CRI. Methods: Data from electronic patient charts on all documented central venous catheter (CVC) insertions from multiple hospitals in southern Sweden, between March 2019 and August 2020, were automatically extracted. Multivariable regression analyses were used to identify associated risk factors. Results: In total, 9924 CVC insertions were included. The prevalence of CRI and CRBSI were 0.7% (n = 74) and 0.02% (n = 20) with incidences of 1.2/1000 catheter days and 0.3/1000 catheter days, respectively. Conclusions: We found a sustained low incidence of CRI and CRBSI in the Region. Catheter tips were less likely to be colonised when the subclavian route was used compared to the internal jugular route and male sex as well as increased number of catheter lumens were associated with both catheter tip colonisation and CRI. By using automated scripts, data extraction was efficient and feasible but also demonstrated that real-time quality assurance should be recommended, since this is superior to current standard.