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Microbial Contamination of Arterial Infusions Used for Hemodynamic Monitoring: A Randomized Trial of Contamination with Sampling Through Conventional Stopcocks versus a Novel Closed System

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2016

Sue Crow ,
Steven A. Conrad ,
Cynthia Chaney-Rowell  and
John W. King
Sue Crow*
Affiliation:
Departments of Infection Control and Medicine, Louisiana State University Medical Center, Shreveport, Louisiana
Steven A. Conrad
Affiliation:
Departments of Infection Control and Medicine, Louisiana State University Medical Center, Shreveport, Louisiana
Cynthia Chaney-Rowell
Affiliation:
Departments of Infection Control and Medicine, Louisiana State University Medical Center, Shreveport, Louisiana
John W. King
Affiliation:
Departments of Infection Control and Medicine, Louisiana State University Medical Center, Shreveport, Louisiana
*
LSU Medical Center, PO Box 33932, Shreveport, LA 71130-3932
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Abstract

Arterial catheters are now commonly used to monitor blood pressure and obtain blood samples for arterial blood gas and other laboratory determinations. Stopcocks inserted into the pressure monitoring circuit have been the primary means of obtaining blood from arterial catheters. However, these stopcock systems have been associated with nosocomial contamination and bacteremias. Because of the problems of bacterial contamination and blood wasting with the stopcock sampling systems, we compared the frequency and extent of contamination of external sampling ports and the monitoring tubing fluid in stopcocks with that of a novel closed needle-sampling system (Lab-Site, Migada Ltd, Rehovot, Israel), incorporated into pressure monitoring tubing (Abbott Laboratories Inc., North Chicago, Illinois). We found that use of the novel sampling system resulted in significantly fewer episodes of internal bacterial contamination of the arterial monitoring line (7%) than did the use of a stopcock system (61%). External contamination of the sampling port was also lower in the novel system (8%) than in the stopcock system (37%). This suggests that the closed system may reduce the risk of nosocomial infections in patients requiring arterial pressure monitoring.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 10 , Issue 12 , December 1989 , pp. 557 - 561
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1989

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