Critical Care Alert – May 1, 2018

May 1, 2018

• Management of Catheter-related Bloodstream Infections

  Catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) remain one of the more common nosocomial infections today, with an estimated 250,000 CRBSIs occurring in the United States annually, of which approximately 80,000 are associated with an ICU stay. The science behind current practices has reduced the CRBSI rate by 50% between 2008 and 2014. However, the rate of infection is far from zero, and rates remain significantly different between states, suggesting that there is room for improvement.

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• Real-time Tracking of Influenza-related ICU Use

  Surrogate markers of influenza severity, specifically trends in ICU use, were collected and revealed differences from current influenza reporting.

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• Routine Chest Radiographs After Ultrasound-guided Central Line Placement May Be Unnecessary

  Catheter misplacement and pneumothorax after routine ultrasound-guided catheter placement are rare, and routine post-procedural chest radiographs may not be cost-effective.

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