Dwindling Utilization of Central Venous Catheter Tip Cultures: An Analysis of Sampling Trends and Clinical Utility at 128 US Hospitals, 2009-2014

Yi Ling Lai; Jennifer Adjemian; Emily E Ricotta; Lauren Mathew; Naomi P O'Grady; Sameer S Kadri

doi:10.1093/cid/ciz218

Dwindling Utilization of Central Venous Catheter Tip Cultures: An Analysis of Sampling Trends and Clinical Utility at 128 US Hospitals, 2009-2014

Clin Infect Dis. 2019 Oct 30;69(10):1797-1800. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciz218.

Authors

Yi Ling Lai¹, Jennifer Adjemian^{1

2}, Emily E Ricotta¹, Lauren Mathew³, Naomi P O'Grady⁴, Sameer S Kadri³

Affiliations

¹ Epidemiology Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
² United States Public Health Service, Commissioned Corps, Rockville, Maryland.
³ Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Maryland.
⁴ Internal Medicine Consult Service, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland.

Abstract

At 128 US hospitals, from 2009-2014, a 17% decline occurred annually in central venous catheter tips sent for culture: a 6-fold decrease from blood culture sampling trends. The positive predictive value was low (23%). Tip culture use often does not conform to recommendations and offers limited independent treatment opportunities.

Keywords: central line–associated bloodstream infection; healthcare-associated infection; trends analysis.

Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America 2019.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

Bacteria / isolation & purification*
Blood Culture / methods
Blood Culture / trends
Blood Specimen Collection
Catheter-Related Infections / prevention & control*
Central Venous Catheters / microbiology*
Colony Count, Microbial / methods
Colony Count, Microbial / trends*
Hospitals
Humans
Predictive Value of Tests
Procedures and Techniques Utilization / statistics & numerical data
Procedures and Techniques Utilization / trends*
Retrospective Studies
Specimen Handling
United States