The World Health Organization (WHO) has published the first global guidelines for the prevention of bloodstream and other infections resulting from the use of catheters inserted into small blood vessels during medical procedures.
Poor insertion, maintenance and removal of these catheters carries a high risk of introducing germs directly into the bloodstream, which can cause serious conditions such as sepsis and difficult-to-treat complications of major human organs such as the brain and kidneys, for example. Soft tissues can also become inflamed where the catheter was inserted into the blood vessel.
Up to 70% of all inpatients will need catheters inserted into a vein or peripheral artery at some point while patients are in hospital. These catheters are also known as peripheral artery catheters. Patients who receive treatment with catheters are often particularly vulnerable to infections, because they may have serious diseases or have low immunity. The organization estimated that between 2000 and 2018, an average of 24.4% of deaths among patients with healthcare-associated sepsis occurred, rising to 52.3% among patients treated in intensive care units.
Many bloodstream infections are caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It is estimated that bacterial antimicrobial resistance directly caused at least 1.27 million deaths and contributed to an additional 4.95 million deaths in 2019.
Dr. Bruce Aylward, WHO Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage and Health Lifelong Health, said: “Infections resulting from the delivery of health care represent an avoidable tragedy and a serious threat to the quality and safety of health care. Implementing recommendations on clean care and infection prevention and control is crucial.” "To save lives and relieve a great deal of avoidable suffering to people around the world."
Developing and implementing guidance on preventing the spread of these infections is a major priority for WHO. The new guidelines include 14 statements of good practice and 23 recommendations on key areas for health workers, including the following:
- Educating and training health workers
- Sterilization techniques and hand hygiene practices
- Inserting, maintaining, connecting and removing catheters
- Selection of catheters
WHO will continue to work with countries to develop and implement best practices aimed at reducing bloodstream infections in hospitals and ensuring that all patients receive safe and effective care.