With more than 140 central lines in place on any given day, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles has virtually eliminated central line-associated blood stream infections from multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO), while dramatically reducing other CLABSIs throughout the hospital.Since an ongoing initiative to reduce these infections was launched in 2005, Cedars-Sinai has implemented a number of recommendations from its CLABSI task force including stringent central-line insertion practices, a new policy to ensure appropriate maintenance of central lines and daily review of the continuednecessity of the lines. Additionally, high-risk patients are bathed daily with an antimicrobial soap.
 

The Result

During the past six years, Cedars-Sinai has experienced a significant decline in all CLASBIs. The adult ICU infection rate dropped from 4.69 per 1,000 central line days in 2005 to 0.69 per 1,000 central line days in 2010. This rate has remained consistently low – and well under the national benchmark. The adult ICU at Cedars-Sinai was even able to achieve a zero infection rate for 15 months since 2009.