Conclusions
In the absence of other clinical focus of infection, vascular accesses are responsible for the majority of primary bloodstream infections and clinical sepsis. Potentially lethal, these infections account for a significant prolongation of hospital stay, additional morbidity, and associated costs. However, a large number of these infections are preventable, and they should no longer be viewed as an inexorable tribute to pay to technologic medicine.
Their prevention should be conceived as improvement of the quality of care and based on the introduction of education-based programs. These programs should include both general measures targeted at an improved observance of the basic hygienic rules, such as hand hygiene procedures, and more specific measures to be progressively included in the standard of care.
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Eggimann, P., Pittet, D. (2004). Education as the Primary Tool for Prevention. In: O’Grady, N.P., Pittet, D. (eds) Catheter-Related Infections in the Critically Ill. Perspectives on Critical Care Infectious Diseases, vol 8. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-8010-7_9
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