Infection in central lines: Antiseptic-impregnated vs standard non-impregnated catheters

We report a survey of 196 consecutive central venous catheters (CVCs) placed in 151 patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) over a ten-month period Over this time the use of a new antiseptic-impregnated triple lumen CVC (Arrowgard Blue, Arrow International Inc., Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) was alternated on a bimonthly basis with the standard triple-lumen CVC (Arrow International Inc., Pennsylvania U.S.A.). The overall rate of CVC tip infection was lower in the impregnated CVC group (15.6% vs 30.9%, P<0.05). The impregnated CVC group had a much lower cumulative infection rate when the dwell time in patients was five days or less (3.3% vs 26.9%, P<0.05). However; the difference between the cumulative infection rate was not statistically significant (P>0.05) for dwell times of 6, 7 or 8 days respectively. There was no difference in the CVC related bacteraemia rates between the two groups (3.9% vs 3.7%, P>0.05).