The Effect of Central Venous Catheter Care on Infection Development: A Systematic Review

Objective: This study was carried out systematically in order to determine the effect of central venous catheter care on central venous catheter-related infection. Materials and Methods: In this systematic review, researches that could be accessed from Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, Cochrane Library, ULAKBIM, EBSCOhost and Google Scholar databases and that were conducted between January 1, 2007 and December 15, 2017 were evaluated. For searching, the terms “care”, “central venous catheter”, “infection”, “catheter related infection”, “catheterization”, “nursing care” in Turkish and English were used. In this context, national and international studies that were in line with the inclusion criteria were reviewed and 40 publications were included in the study. Results: Of the articles included in this systematic review, 11 were prospective, eight were randomized controlled, five were retrospective, three were observational, three were descriptive, three were semi-experimental, two were prospective, randomized controlled experimental, two were prospective and the remaining studies were prospective-observational-interventional-intermittent time series, methodological, cross-sectional, single-group, pretest-posttest, semi-experimental and retrospective-quasi-experimental. According to the research results, it has been determined that a) 2%, 4% chlorhexidine, povidone iodine and octenidine hydrochloride are used in skin antisepsis, b) care packages are used in catheter placement and care, c) chlorhexidine gluconate-impregnated sponge wrap, polyurethane transparent film cover, gauze and microporous tapes are used in central venous catheter dressing, and d) chlorhexidine is used in patient bath. Conclusion: As a result of this systematic review, it has been concluded that the use of chlorhexidine solution in skin antisepsis and patient baths, and the use of chlorhexidine-impregnated sponge dressings and the closure of the catheter area with transparent film covers reduce the incidence of catheterrelated infections. In addition, the use of central venous catheter care packages created by various disciplines is considered to be one of the effective nursing care practices and may be useful in the prevention of catheter related infection.