Could CDC ’s New Catheter-Site Dressing Advice Curb Infections?

To help prevent intravascular catheter-related infections, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has updated its guidelines on catheter-site dressing regimens. The CDC now advises that for patients aged 18 years and older, “Chlorhexidine-impregnated dressings with an FDA-cleared label that specifies a clinical indication for reducing catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) or catheter-associated bloodstream infection (CABSI) are recommended to protect the insertion site of short-term, non-tunneled central venous catheters (1A)." Previously, according to its 2011 guidelines, the CDC recommended the use of “a chlorhexidine-impregnated sponge dressing for temporary short-term catheters in patients older than 2 months of age if the central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) rate is not decreasing despite adherence to basic prevention measures, including education and training, appropriate use of chlorhexidine for skin antisepsis, and maximal sterile barrier precautions (1B).” Renee Odehnal, MS, BSN, RN, VA-BC, CRNI Manager of Professional Education, Infection Risk Management for BIOPATCH at Ethicon, points to two key elements in the change. “The first is the importance of the use of chlorhexidine impregnated (CGI) dressings with an ‘FDA-cleared label that specifies a clinical indication for reducing catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI).’ The second element is the elevation of the CGI dressing recommendation to category 1A, the highest ...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Medical Device Business Source Type: news