WASHINGTON—A new website has been launched to help drive best practices in order to eliminate central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs).
The new website, http://CLABSI.APIC.org, was developed by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and the Infusion Nurses Society (INS).
CLABSIs occur if bacteria enter through a catheter, infecting the bloodstream. Intravascular catheters are long, thin, flexible tubes inserted into a vein that lead to the heart and are used to give medication, supply nutrition, or monitor blood flow.
The CLABSI.APIC.org website is a part of APIC’s “I Believe in Zero CLABSIs” campaign, in which infection preventionists are urged to lead efforts to eliminate these infections in their facilities. A virtual toolkit for health professionals, the site offers educational materials, webinars, advice from leading experts, guidance documents from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other authorities, as well as APIC’s Guide to the Elimination of Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infections, which translates evidence-based findings into practical, implementable solutions.
Among the resources included on the site are information on how to correctly insert a central line catheter, how to conduct surveillance for possible infections and how to promote the sort of cultural change in hospitals and outpatient centers that will prevent CLABSIs in the future. The website also includes a 20-question quiz to test professionals on what they know about properly inserting a central line.
“The new online toolkit represents an important collaboration of leading experts and offers the definitive resources for CLABSI reduction in one convenient place,” said APIC 2011 President Russell Olmsted, MPH, CIC, epidemiologist in Infection Prevention & Control Services, St. Joseph Mercy Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan. “We urge every infection preventionist to make the pledge to prevent CLABSIs and begin utilizing the resources presented on this site.”
A 2010 survey of infection preventionists conducted by APIC found that hospitals still struggle to prevent CLABSIs. Added financial incentives from the federal government will prompt hospitals to increase measures to eliminate these infections. Starting this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires that hospitals who participate in Medicare report the number and rate of adult intensive care unit patients who acquire CLABSIs, or risk losing 2 percent of their Medicare payments. Reduction of CLABSIs is also a goal of the Department of Health and Human Services Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI) Action Plan.
The development of CLABSI.APIC.org was made possible with the support of an unrestricted educational grant from Bard Access Systems, Inc.
