title: Prophylactic administration of doxycycline reduces central venous catheter infections in patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation.
abstract: Hematopoietic stem cells are generally transfused through a central venous catheter (CVC), which also facilitates administration of medications and intravenous fluids. We had observed a high rate of CVC infections at our Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT) unit. Accordingly, we evaluated the impact of administration of doxycycline as a prophylactic strategy to reduce CVC infection rates. Data was collected retrospectively on 54 consecutive patients, 26 who received doxycycline (doxycycline group), and we compared their outcomes to a previous cohort of 28 subjects who did not receive doxycycline (comparison group). The groups were comparable in regards to age, gender, transplant type, and CD34 cell dose. No (0%) CVC infection was observed in the doxycycline group, while 5 infection episodes (18%) occurred in 4 patients in the comparison group (p<0.001). Isolated organisms included: Escherichia-coli (EC)=1, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus-spp (CNSS)=2, both EC & CNSS=1. Notwithstanding the non-randomized comparative nature of our study, results suggest that CVC infection rate was reduced significantly after adding doxycycline for prophylaxis. A randomized controlled study is warranted to confirm these findings.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology-Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Program, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baydoun
authors.forename: Zaher K
authors.initials: ZK
authors.lastname: Otrock
authors.forename: Samar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okaily
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nehme
authors.forename: Racha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Abu-Chahine
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hamdan
authors.forename: Samar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Noureddine
authors.forename: Souha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kanj
authors.forename: Zeina
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kanafani
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bazarbachi
authors.forename: Mohamed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kharfan-Dabaja