Catheter Associated Bloodstream Infection (CABSI) Rate - NICU
Catheters are tubes that are inserted into the patient’s body. Some catheters are inserted directly into the patient’s veins to allow for easier delivery of medications. These catheters are important for patient care, particularly in the intensive care unit (ICU), but they can sometimes become infected. These infections are dangerous because they can move into the patient’s bloodstream and possibly cause a more serious infection elsewhere. When this happens, the infection is known as a catheter associated bloodstream infection (CABSI).
Packard Children’s Hospital measures its CABSI rate as the number of infections per 1000 central line days (the total number of days patients had a central line in place). If two patients had a central line in for five days each, that is a total of 10 central line days.
Below are CABSI rates for Lucile Packard Children's Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) patients.
A low score is better than a high score.
NICU CABSI Rate |
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Benchmark data are the national CABSI rates collected by the CCSQI, a collaborative that ran out of the California Children’s Hospital Association (CCHA) with support and oversight from both the Department of Health Services (DHS) and California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative (CPQCC).
What This Graph Says
Packard Children’s Hospital’s rate is higher than the national average found in other NICUs. However the difference in the two rates is not statistically significant.
Packard Children’s Hospital’s average CABSI rate between March 2010-February 2011 was 2.1. This means there were 2.1 catheter associated bloodstream infections for every 1000 days that patients collectively had a central line inserted.
NICU CABSI Rate |
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Benchmark data are the national CABSI rates collected by the CCSQI, a collaborative that ran out of the California Children’s Hospital Association (CCHA) with support and oversight from both the Department of Health Services (DHS) and California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative (CPQCC).
What This Graph Says
The graph shows Lucile Packard Children's Hospital’s NICU CABSI rate (blue line) over time compared to the average benchmark standard (red line) of 2. Our CABSI rate has remained stable over the past 12 months.
What We Are Doing to Improve the CABSI Rate
Reducing the CABSI rate has been a hospital initiative for the past several years. We expect continued improvements until we reach our goal of zero preventable catheter associated infections. Our activities to reduce CABSIs include:- Implementing the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's (IHI) best practice standards.
- Monitoring all care providers to ensure best practices are followed. All nurses receive training upon hire. We hold ongoing education sessions with our staff to ensure they receive the most up-to-date information.