The importance of adequate CVC securement to prevent infection.
central venous catheter (CVC) related bloodstream infections (Jackson et al, 2013) health professionals must do everything they can to ensure that the risk of a CVC infection is mitigated. Loveday et al (2014) identified that bloodstream infections associated with post insertion care of CVCs are among the most dangerous complications in health care, and catheter related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) can be life threatening (Bodenham et al, 2016) CVCs are foreign objects and, as such, require that their external component both be protected adequately from microbial contamination from the surrounding area and be secured to the skin (Ullman et al, 2015) Adequate securement of a CVC seems essential for two reasons: to ensure securement of the device (to prevent dislodgement) and to act as barrier to extraluminal device infection (Jackson, 2012) Inadequate catheter securement is an underrecognised patient safety issue that contributes significantly to catheter related complications, including infection (Schears, 2006)
British journal of nursing