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Infection control

Central Line
Infection
Occurrences

A Central line is used when a patient requires long-term access to medication or fluids through an Intravenous (IV). It is placed into a large vein in the neck, chest, groin, arm, or abdomen. A central line is more convenient and comfortable than inserting frequent needles for treatments such as chemotherapy, antibiotics and intravenous fluids or nutrition, feeding, or to take  samples of blood for testing.

A central line blood stream infection (CLI-BSI) can occur when bacteria and/or fungi enters the blood stream, causing a patient to become sick. The bacteria can come from a variety of places such as skin, wounds, or the environment.

Reporting

All hospitals with ICUs are required to report into the Critical Care Information System (CCIS) – a centralized data collection system where hospitals report a variety of critical care. Every three (3) months, you will find CLI infection rates for SJGHEL posted on our website as required by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Included in the table is data on the number of new hospital-acquired cases and the rate for the quarter (3 months).

Infection Prevention and Control Indicators

Calculating Rates

The rate of CLI is calculated as follows:

  • Total # of CLI incidents Diagnosed after 48 hours of Critical Care Admissions x 1000 / Total # of Central Line Days
SJGHEL’s Current CLI report