Infections from Arterial Catheters: A Study of 2,949 Cases
Author Information
Author(s): Leonardo Lorente, Ruth Santacreu, María M Martín, Alejandro Jiménez, María L Mora
Primary Institution: Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Hypothesis
Which arterial catheter site is associated with a higher risk of infection?
Conclusion
The study found that using a femoral site increases the risk of arterial catheter-related infections compared to radial access.
Supporting Evidence
- The femoral site had a CRLI incidence of 3.02/1,000 catheter-days compared to 0.75/1,000 for the radial site.
- The CRBSI incidence was 1.92/1,000 catheter-days for femoral access versus 0.25/1,000 for radial access.
- A total of 2,949 arterial catheters were analyzed in the study.
Takeaway
This study looked at different places to put catheters and found that putting them in the groin (femoral site) can lead to more infections than putting them in the wrist (radial site).
Methodology
A prospective observational study of all consecutive patients admitted to a 24-bed ICU over three years.
Potential Biases
The study design may introduce bias as catheter insertion sites were not randomly assigned.
Limitations
Different insertion sites were not randomly assigned, and the low number of infection cases limited the multivariate analysis.
Participant Demographics
Of the 2,018 patients, 61.60% were male, with a mean age of 56.85 years.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.01
Confidence Interval
1.10–2.13
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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