Feats such as these are rare in the medical world. Lois Remington, RN, BSN, the quality manager at the center who designed and implemented CLABSI-prevention guidelines in the center, had her doubts that they would be able to make it one year without an infection, let alone two, according to the Deseret News.
Preventing infections is particularly hard in burn centers, where patients frequently have open wounds that need to undergo multiple surgeries, Ms. Remington pointed out to the local newspaper.
“It’s just not a clean environment,” Ms. Remington said.
The success of the University Hospital burn center stems from the introduction of an intravenous bundle that included switching to IV caps that are disinfected with alcohol, standardizing and enforcing procedures for inserting and moving catheters and conducting daily meetings between all the staff responsible for patient care to determine the necessity of a catheter in each case.
The center will be featured in a forthcoming research paper in JAMA Surgery, due by the end of the year, according to the report.
More articles on bloodstream infections:
Placing catheters under collarbone reduces bloodstream infections, study finds
How to improve the reliability of fully automated CLABSI surveillance
Compliance with CDC infection prevention recommendations for catheters falls short, survey finds
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.
