Compliance with international prevention guidelines for central-line-associated bloodstream infections in neonatal intensive care units in Belgium: a national survey

Central-line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) are a preventable cause of morbidity among patients in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). To assess compliance with international guidelines for prevention of CLABSIs in Belgian NICUs, and to study unit characteristics contributing to CLABSIs. A survey was undertaken to measure the adherence of various NICUs to the CLABSI prevention guidelines related to catheter insertion, catheter maintenance and quality control measurements. A Poisson regression model was used to estimate the CLABSI adjusted relative risk for each prevention guideline item implemented. Multi-variable linear regression was used to estimate associations between guideline compliance rate and facility characteristics and the incidence of CLABSIs for 2015–2016. In Belgium, the overall CLABSI incidence density was 8.48/1000 central-line-days, and was higher in larger NICUs: 10.87‰ vs 6.69‰ (P