Preemptive Ethanol Lock Therapy in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Patients With Catheter-Associated Bloodstream Infection: Impact on Length of Stay, Cost, and Catheter Salvage

BACKGROUND Ethanol lock therapy (ELT) with systemic antimicrobial therapy is a promising therapy for catheter-related infection (CRI). The impact of ELT timing on treatment efficacy and costs is unknown. PROCEDURES A prospective study was conducted in the Hematology/Oncology Unit at the Children's Hospital of Michigan. Patients with suspected CRI were randomized to Preemptive ELT arm or Rescue ELT arm after positive culture. RESULTS Five cases in Preemptive arm and 9 in Rescue arm had a confirmed CRI. All cases cleared infection with line salvage with no adverse events due to ELT or recurrence within 14 days. Our data showed a trend toward 36% reduction in average hospital costs and 40% reduction in average length of stay in Preemptive arm over Rescue arm. CONCLUSION Although a small study, our data on preemptive ELT with systemic antimicrobial therapy suggest a potentially important treatment strategy in reducing length of stay as well as hospital costs.