Central vascular catheter-related blood stream infections: incidence, associated pathogens and antibiotic sensitivity patterns at a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka.

From February to November 2006, 100 central venous catheters (CVCs) were collected from patients admitted consecutively to the medical and surgical intensive care units (ICUs) of Colombo South Teaching Hospital (CSTH), who had temperature >38°C. Before removal of the venous catheter, two blood culture samples were collected, one through the central venous line and the other from a peripheral vein. Ethical committee approval and informed consent were obtained before collecting samples. Catheter tips were processed according to a quantitative technique known as the sonication method. The distal 4cm of the catheter tip was placed in brain heart infusion broth followed by sonication and then vortexing. The number of colony forming units (cfu) was determined by serial dilution. The threshold for a significant count was ≥103 cfu/ml. Blood cultures were processed according to guidelines issued by the College of Microbiologists of Sri Lanka. The organisms were then identified by routine microbiological techniques using API strips.