CATHETER-RELATED bacteremia rates declined significantly in conventional hospital wards following implementation of a multimodal prevention programme, according to findings from a multicentre study involving eight hospitals in Spain.
The intervention was associated with a sustained reduction in infection rates over a 12-month follow-up period, suggesting that structured prevention strategies may improve vascular catheter safety beyond intensive care settings.
Researchers conducted a prospective, quasi-experimental before-and-after study to evaluate whether a multimodal intervention could reduce catheter-related bacteremia in non-intensive care hospital wards.
The programme included staff education alongside insertion and maintenance bundles focusing on catheter selection, hand hygiene, skin antisepsis, dressing care, and prompt catheter removal when no longer required.
During the intervention phase, 7,737 vascular catheters were inserted in 4,557 patients, with most devices being short peripheral catheters (90.1%).
Catheters were used predominantly in medical wards and were mainly inserted for medication administration. Mean catheter dwell time was 3.0 days.
A total of 40 catheter-related bacteremia episodes occurred during the pre-intervention period, compared with 12 during the intervention phase and 23 during the post-intervention follow-up.
Correspondingly, incidence rates decreased from 0.22 per 1,000 patient-days before intervention to 0.16 during intervention and 0.13 after implementation.
Analysis showed that the post-intervention period was associated with a significant reduction in catheter-related bacteremia incidence, representing an approximate 41% reduction in infection rates.
Although the decrease observed during the intervention period did not reach statistical significance, researchers noted that an existing upward trend in catheter-related bacteremia incidence was reversed following programme implementation.
The intervention units also performed favourably compared with broader surveillance data from conventional wards.
While both groups had a pre-intervention incidence of 0.22 per 1,000 patient-days, rates in intervention wards fell to 0.13 during follow-up, whereas incidence elsewhere remained around 0.23.
High adherence to recommended practices was reported throughout the study.
During the intervention phase, hand hygiene compliance exceeded 99%, skin antisepsis was performed in almost all insertions, and femoral access was avoided in more than 99% of cases.
Follow-up observations demonstrated continued adherence to infection prevention measures during the post-intervention period.
The investigators concluded that implementation of a multimodal prevention programme was associated with a lower incidence of catheter-related bacteremia in conventional hospital wards, with benefits maintained throughout 12 months of follow-up.
They suggested that wider adoption of standardised catheter care practices could support patient safety and reduce preventable bloodstream infections in non-critical care settings.
Reference
Gasch O et al. Successful multimodal intervention to prevent vascular catheter-related bacteremia in conventional wards (PREVCATH). Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2026;DOI:10.1186/s13756-026-01815-7.
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