Can central venous access device care bundles and regular feedback reduce central line-associated complications in pediatric patients?

BACKGROUND

The use of indwelling central venous access devices (CVADs) in children can result in complications such as infection, occlusion, and dislodgement.

PURPOSE

To evaluate whether reinforcing CVAD care bundles by using a regular direct feedback system could reduce such complications in children.

METHODS

The intervention in this retrospective interrupted time-series study was initiated in January 2019. The study was divided into the preintervention (October-December 2018), 3-month postintervention (January-March 2019), and 6-month postintervention (April-June 2019) phases. Risk difference and Poisson regression analyses were used to illustrate the effectiveness of the intervention.

RESULTS

The hospital-wide central line-related bloodstream infection rate decreased from 10.0/1,000 catheter-days to 4.5/1,000 catheter-days at 3-month postintervention (P=0.39) and to 1.4/1,000 catheter-days at 6-month postintervention (P=0.047). The central line occlusion rate significantly decreased from 30% to 12.8% (P=0.04) and 8.3% (P=0.002) at 3 and 6 months, respectively. Approximately 7% of CVADs became dislodged during the preintervention phase versus 8.5% (P=0.364) and 3.3% (P=0.378) at 3 and 6 months, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Reinforcing CVAD care bundles with direct feedback could significantly decrease CVAD-associated complications in terms of infection at 6-month postintervention, and occlusion at 3- and 6-month postintervention. Thus, reinforcement and regular direct feedback might improve care quality in children with CVADs.