An evidence-based approach to central venous catheter management to prevent catheter-related infection in critically ill patients.
A systematic search of the literature yielded 102 randomized controlled trials of interventions aimed at reducing central venous catheter-related infections in critically ill patients. The process of critically appraising these trials has begun and clinicians have performed meta-analyses of the data in some areas. There are three main components to the production of evidence-based guidelines in this area: identification of effective interventions, comparison of the relative merit of effective interventions aimed at the source of infection, and assessment of the applicability of the evidence to diverse sub-populations of critically ill patients.
Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
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Randolph
D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002405:Catheterization, Central Venous; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000382:microbiology; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D016638:Critical Illness; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006493:Heparin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
D000925:Anticoagulants; D006493:Heparin