Central venous catheter care and the healthcare–environment interface: outcomes of a quality improvement initiative in a resource-constrained ICU

Faculty Medicine Year: 2025
Type of Publication: ZU Hosted Pages:
Authors:
Journal: frontiers in public helath Frontieresin Volume:
Keywords : Central venous catheter care , , healthcare–environment interface:    
Abstract:
Background Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) are major indicators of healthcare quality and patient safety, particularly in resource-constrained intensive care units (ICUs). Aim This study aimed to evaluate a pre-post quality improvement (QI) initiative designed to optimize central venous catheter (CVC) insertion and maintenance, reducing CLABSI rates, and promoting more sustainable critical care practices in a university hospital ICU. Methodology A one-year pre–post QI study (October 2022–September 2023) was conducted in an emergency surgical ICU of a university hospital in Egypt hospital. The study was structured according to the Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRE 2.0) framework and using sequential Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles. All eligible ICU patients needing CVCs were included. The intervention included: (1) standardizing CLABSI definitions and rate calculations, (2) introducing CVC insertion and maintenance checklists with daily audits, (3) targeted staff education and training, and (4) forming a multidisciplinary CLABSI working group for monitoring and feedback. Over 6 months, process improvements were implemented, followed by 3 months of impact measurement, including assessing CVC insertion/maintenance compliance, CLABSI rates, and device utilization ratio (DUR), with all data collected manually. Results A total of 1,370 patients and 2,277 CVC days were observed. The CLABSI rate declined from 7.56 ± 2.26 to 6.97 ± 1.31 per 1,000 CVC days (−13.4%), and DUR decreased significantly from 2.21 ± 0.34 to 0.98 ± 0.19 (p = 0.02). Maintenance bundle compliance improved from 39.5 to 59.7% (p = 0.01), and insertion compliance increased from 62.5 to 72% (p = 0.6). Hand hygiene adherence demonstrated a strong negative correlation with CLABSI rates (r = −0.95, p = 0.02). Conclusion This single-center study had a small sample size and short post-intervention follow-up, which may limit generalizability. Nonetheless, the initiative demonstrates that structured, low-cost QI interventions can improve compliance, reduce device use, and may support safer, more environmentally sustainable ICU care. Continuous monitoring and multicenter validation that integrate infection control with environmental stewardship are essential to sustain improvements and minimize the environmental footprint of critical care. Digital surveillance and ongoing training can improve real-time monitoring and scalability in healthcare systems.
   
     
 
       

Author Related Publications

  • Rehab Hosny Mohamed Abedallah, "Managing adult patients with infectious diseases in emergency departments: international ID-IRI study", Taylor& francis online, 2021 More
  • Rehab Hosny Mohamed Abedallah, "Antibiotic Use and Resistance Among Prescribers: Current Status of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice in Egypt", Dove press journal, 2021 More
  • Rehab Hosny Mohamed Abedallah, "Profiles of multidrug-resistant organisms among patients with bacteremia in intensive care units: an international ID-IRI survey", springer, 2021 More
  • Rehab Hosny Mohamed Abedallah, "Knowledge, perception, and confidence of healthcare workers about COVID-19 preventive measures during the first wave of the pandemic: a cross-sectional study from Egypt.", European HIV/AIDS academy, 2021 More
  • Rehab Hosny Mohamed Abedallah, "Predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Egyptian healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study", SPRINGER NATURE, 2021 More

Department Related Publications

  • Noha Mohamed El Sayed Hammad, "The incidence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in community acquired pneumonia among children: one centre study", Microbes and Infectious diseases, 2020 More
  • Noha Mohamed El Sayed Hammad, "Complement component 3c and tumor necrosis factor-α systemic assessment after Candida antigen immunotherapy in cutaneous", Brazilian Journal of Microbiology, 2020 More
Tweet