The World Health Organisation (WHO) has published the first global guidelines aimed at preventing bloodstream and other infections caused by the use of catheters placed in minor blood vessels during medical procedures.
Catheters are a vital tool in modern medicine, used for a variety of procedures to deliver fluids, medications, and other medical interventions. Up to 70% of all inpatients require the use of catheters into a peripheral vein or artery at some point during their hospital stay.
However, their use also carries a risk of infection. Poor practices in the insertion, maintenance and removal of these catheters carry a high risk of bloodstream infections.
The new guidelines include 14 good practice statements and 23 recommendations for health workers, covering areas such as education and training, aseptic techniques, hand hygiene, catheter selection, and the insertion and removal of catheters.
Dr Bruce Aylward, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage, emphasised the importance of the new guidelines as a means to reduce infections.
“Infections associated with health care delivery represent a preventable tragedy and a serious threat to the quality and safety of health care,” Dr Aylward said.
“Implementing clean care and infection prevention and control recommendations is critical to saving lives and alleviating a great deal of avoidable suffering experienced by people around the world.”