title: Pulmonary artery catheter infections. A prospective study.
abstract: Despite the widespread use of the Swan-Ganz pulmonary artery catheter, the incidence of catheter tip infection is not well-established. One-hundred and seventy catheter insertions in 113 patients were examined in this prospective study. Using a semiquantitative culture technique, the incidence of positive catheter tip cultures was 5.8%. No significant risk factors for catheter infection were identified, although there was a trend toward more frequent infection in patients not receiving antibiotics (p less than 0.06). Catheter tip infection appeared to result most frequently from a distant focus of infection. Although the overall incidence of positive blood cultures was significantly higher in the positive vs. negative catheter tip groups (37.9% vs. 10.6%, p less than 0.001), blood cultures were generally not a reliable guide to the presence of a catheter tip infection. We conclude that catheter infection can be contained at an acceptable level by following a reasonable protocol for catheter management.
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000295:instrumentation; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000628:therapy; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018805:Sepsis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents