The long awaited update to the 2002 CDC Guidelines for the Prevention of Intravascular Catheter -Related Infections was released today April 1 by the  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC).

The 2011 guidelines  outline steps to eliminate bloodstream infections in patients with intravenous catheters, which are among the most deadly and costly healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The guidelines have been developed for healthcare personnel (not just infusion nurses) who insert intravascular catheters(not jut intravenous) and for persons responsible for surveillance and control of infections in hospitals, outpatient, and home health settings.

In this updated version, the major areas of emphasis include:

1) educating and training healthcare personnel who insert and maintain catheters;

2) using maximal sterile barrier precautions during central venous catheter insertion;

3) using a > 0.5% chlorhexidine skin preparation with alcohol for antisepsis;

4) avoiding routine replacement of central venous catheters as a strategy to prevent infection; and

5) using antiseptic/antibiotic impregnated short-term central venous catheters and chlorhexidine impregnated sponge dressings if the rate of infection is not decreasing despite adherence to other strategies (i.e., education and training, maximal sterile barrier precautions, and >0.5% chlorhexidine preparations with alcohol for skin antisepsis).

These guidelines also emphasize performance improvement by implementing bundled strategies, and documenting and reporting rates of compliance with all components of the bundle as benchmarks for quality assurance and performance improvement.

For more information and to download your copy, here’s the link to the 2011 CDC guidelines on the Prevention of Intravascular Catheter related … http://tmi.me/8mD5g