Few studies have focused on the risks of peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVs) as sources for Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB), a life-threatening complication. We identified 34 PIV-related infections (7.6%) in a cohort of 445 patients with SAB. Peripheral intravenous catheter-related SAB was associated with significantly longer bacteremia duration and thrombophlebitis at old PIV sites ...

More than 260 million short peripheral I.V. catheters were sold in 2002 in the United States, representing the largest group of all vascular access devices.1 One could conclude from this sizable number that healthcare professionals are proficient with their insertion technique, however, that is not always the case. Many factors contribute to make peripheral access for both veins and arteries qu...

Intravascular catheters have become essential devices for the management of critically and chronically ill patients. However, their use is often associated with serious infectious complications, mostly catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI), resulting in significant morbidity, increased duration of hospitalization, and additional medical costs. The majority of CRBSIs are associated with...

The aim of this study was to characterize the clinical safety profile transendocardial injection catheters (TIC) reported in published literature. Transendocardial delivery is a minimally invasive approach deliver potential therapeutic agents directly into myocardium. rate adverse events across TIC uncertain. A systematic search performed for trial publications using TIC. Procedure-associated e...

Flushing hemodynamic catheters is essential to maintain patency and therefore ensure accurate hemodynamic measurements, arterial blood sampling, and cardiac output determinations. Patency of hemodynamic catheters has been maintained for decades in critical care settings with pressurized infusions of heparinized saline to prevent clots from forming around or within catheters. Recently, the use o...

Fourteen severely ill ventilated patients in an intensive care unit, requiring short-term total parenteral nutrition, were examined for catheter-related infection. Microbiological analysis using Maki's SQ technique was carried out on catheter exit site, catheter hub, proximal subcutaneous segment of catheter and catheter up. Qualitative cultures were carried out on total parenteral nutrition an...