The Joint Commission, in collaboration with Joint Commission Resources (JCR) and Joint Commission International (JCI), developed a new monograph containing the most current information, evidence-based guidance and resources to help health care organizations reduce the current risks and resulting harm associated with central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs). CLABSIs are a serious form of health care-associated infections (HAIs), with a mortality rate of 12 to 25 percent in the United States alone. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently estimated the annual cost of CLABSI is more than $1 billion, and the estimated cost per patient is more than $16,000. The risk associated with CLABSI is even greater in developing countries, where the rates of HAIs related to devices are, in most cases, three to five times greater.
The monograph was produced in partnership with infection prevention leaders from the Society for Hospital Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. (APIC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the Association for Vascular Access (AVA), and the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC). In addition, several other domestic and international infection prevention leaders from countries such as Argentina, Australia, Egypt, Switzerland, Thailand and Saudi Arabia have lent their expertise to the monograph. The project is supported by a research grant from Baxter Healthcare Corporation and focuses on the identification and broad dissemination of preferred practices and technological solutions to prevent CLABSI. (Contact: Linda Kusek, lkusek@jointcommission.org)