Catheter-related infection in Irish intensive care units diagnosed with HELICS criteria: a multi-centre surveillance study

Summary Background Catheter-related infection (CRI) surveillance is advocated as a healthcare quality indicator. However, there is no national CRI surveillance programme or standardized CRI definitions in Irish intensive care units (ICUs). Aim To examine the feasibility of multi-centre CRI surveillance in nine Irish ICUs, using Hospitals in Europe Link for Infection Control through Surveillance (HELICS) definitions (CRI 1, CRI 2 and CRI 3). Methods All non-tunnelled central venous catheters (CVCs) inserted in patients aged >18 years with an ICU stay ≥48 h were included over a three-month study period. Findings Feasibility was demonstrated by the 99.5% return rate for study forms. Data on 1209 CVCs in 614 patients over 7587 CVC-days showed 17 episodes of CRI, representing a national rate of 2.2 per 1000 CVC-days [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2–3.3]. Rates of CRI 1, CRI 2 and CRI 3 were 0.13 (95% CI 0.00–0.39), 0.79 (95% CI 0.16–1.42) and 1.39 (95% CI 0.60–2.17) per 1000 CVC-days, respectively. CRI was associated with length of ICU stay ( P