AVA issues guidelines for disinfecting IV catheters

How to meet new infection-control guidelines from the Joint Commission and the SHEA/IDSA Compendium will be the focus of a panel discussion at the upcoming annual meeting of the Association for Vascular Access (AVA).

Discussing the new guidelines for disinfecting IV catheter elements will be three nationally known experts:

• Lynn Hadaway, M. Ed, RN, CRNI
• Gregory Schears, MD
• Kelly Fugate, ND, RN, of The Joint Commission

The early-morning symposium is titled “Preventing Intra-Luminal Contamination from CRBSI's: Complying with New Guidelines.”

The panel will be from 6:45 a.m. to 8 a.m., on Sept. 16 in Room Royale 8 of the Riviera Hotel, in Las Vegas, site of AVA’s annual meeting.

Sponsoring this educational presentation is Excelsior Medical, makers of the FDA-cleared SwabCap -- the luer access valve disinfection cap that promotes technique standardization.

A new guideline implementing a National Patient Safety Goal of the Joint Commission requires that as of January 2010, hospitals use a standardized protocol to disinfect items such as a lure access valves, catheter hubs, and injection ports. The Joint Commission accredits US healthcare facilities.

Similar to the Joint Commission guideline, the recently issued SHEA/IDSA Compendium calls for the cleaning of catheter hubs, needle-less connectors, and injection ports, prior to accessing central venous and peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs). The Compendium’s Practice Recommendations were developed by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA).

“The Joint Commission and SHEA/IDSA protocols have prompted many institutions to consider how they can improve their protocols for preventing catheter-related bloodstream infections. It is known that these potentially deadly infections can result from improperly disinfected valves, ports and hubs,” said Dr. Schears. “This panel at the AVA meeting will provide a helpful summary of the new protocols, as well as recommendations on how vascular access nurses can comply with best clinical practice.”

Catheter-related bloodstream infections constitute a significant threat in hospital settings, with a mortality rate of 12% to 25%. Each infection costs from $25,000 to $45,000 per case to treat, according to the CDC.

http://www.avainfo.org/website/article.asp?id=4