Dressing Change Reduces the Central Venous Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infection

Background/Aims: To compare the time interval from insertion until development of central venous catheter-related bloodstream infection (CVC-RBSI) between patients who received non-routine dressing change group (Group 1) and patients who received routine dressing change group (Group 2). Methodology: Between March 2006 and July 2008, patients who underwent CVC were randomly divided into Groups 1 and 2. Comparative study between the two groups was performed by reference to the incidences of CVC-RBSI from the prospectively obtained database. Results: One hundred-eighty nine patients underwent 530 CVC insertions. Group 1 had 254 CVCs and Group 2 had 276 CVCs. There were no significant inter-group differences in patient background factors, except for gender. In addition, Group 1 had a shorter duration of catheter insertion than Group 2. Nevertheless, Group 1 had not only a significantly shorter period from insertion until the development of CVC-RBSI but also a higher frequency of fever than Group 2. Conclusions: The results of our comparison between non-routine dressing change group and routine dressing change group indicate that routine dressing change can reduce the incidence of CVC-RBSI in patients undergoing CVC insertions.