The number of bloodstream infections in intensive care unit patients with central lines decreased by 58 percent in 2009 compared to 2001, according to a new CDC Vital Signs report. During this time span, the decrease in bloodstream infections represented up to 27,000 lives saved and almost $2 billion in excess health care costs. Bloodstream infections in patients with central lines can be deadly, killing as many as one in four patients who gets one.
A central line is a tube usually placed in a large vein of a patient's neck or chest to deliver treatment in an ICU, elsewhere in the hospital, and during dialysis. A bloodstream infection can happen when germs enter the blood through a central line, often because proper procedures were not used while the central line was placed or maintained. In recent years, studies have proven that health care providers can prevent most bloodstream infections in patients with central lines by following CDC infection control recommendations, which include removing central lines as soon as medically appropriate. In hemodialysis patients, central lines should only be used when other options are unavailable.
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