Key Quality Measures – Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infections

What is a Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infection (CLABSI)?

Sometimes, a patient needs fluids or medicines given through a special catheter into a great blood vessel(s). These special catheters, called “central lines”, are very thin plastic tubing placed through the skin into larger great blood vessels. Cook Children’s uses central lines to give medicines, fluids and sometimes to draw blood for lab tests.
Cook Children’s follows national standards to prevent infections. Sometimes, a patient can develop an infection when there is a central line in place. This can happen if bacteria enters the blood vessels or other parts of the body. The resulting infection is called a “CLABSI”. CLABSI stands for Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infection. If an infection does happens, our teams give the patient antibiotics to treat the infection.

What can you do as a parent or caregiver?

Here are some things you can do to help prevent a central line associated blood stream infection:

The patient and everyone who visits the patient should wash their hands before and after they visit.
Do not get the dressing or bandage around the central line wet.
Keep an eye on the area around the central line. If the bandage or dressing comes off, or if it gets wet or dirty, tell a member of your child’s healthcare team.
Give your child a bath everyday while in the hospital. Some units use CHG (chlorhexidine) wipes for bathing. These special wipes have extra germ killing power.
Tell your healthcare team if the area around the central line becomes red, starts to hurt and if your child develops fever.

How are we doing?

Central line associated blood stream infections