Catheter-related blood-stream infections (CRBSI) can result in substantial morbidity, undue mortality, prolonged hospital stays, and increased healthcare costs. Based on the national infection control guidelines, an accurate determination of the number of organisms colonizing a catheter is crucial in assessing significant catheter colonization, one of the criteria for the positive determination of CRBSI. Healthcare providers make therapeutic decisions based on the diagnosis of CRBSI, including antibiotic therapy. Therefore, it is extremely important to correctly enumerate the number of organisms colonizing a catheter. Proper and timely diagnosis of catheter- related infections can help healthcare providers make the appropriate management decisions that can prevent complications including sepsis and death. The major goals of this project include the optimization and enhancement of a sensitive and novel technique for detecting microorganisms on intravascular catheters and to assess the comparative efficacy of this method for diagnosis of catheter-related blood-stream infections.
Infections related to central access lines that are used for the delivery of nutrition and/or drugs to critically ill patients can lead to complications including death. An accurate determination of the number of microorganisms that colonize central lines is crucial to properly determine the possibility of infections associated with these devices and to prescribe the appropriate therapy for the patient. The overall goal of this project is to increase the sensitivity of enumeration of microorganisms on central lines by an improved technique for correct assessment of infections associated with these devices.
