• James S Soothill, Karen Bravery, Anne Ho, Susan Macqueen, Jane Collins, and Paul Lock.
• Department of Microbiology, Level 4 CB Labs, Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children NHS Trust, London, UK. soothj@gosh.nhs.uk
• Am J Infect Control. 2009 Oct 1;37(8):626-30.

BackgroundSome catheter-related bloodstream infections originate from catheter connectors; therefore, improved antisepsis of these might be expected to reduce the incidence of such infections.MethodsIn this observational before/after study at a pediatric tertiary referral hospital, inpatients up to 16 years old undergoing hemopoietic stem cell transplants were studied. Catheter connection antisepsis was changed from 70% isopropanol alone to 2% chlorhexidine in 70% isopropanol. Numbers of catheter-related bloodstream infections before and after the change were monitored as were the numbers of catheter days experienced by patients.ResultsThe infection rate before the change was 12 per 1000 catheter-days, and, following the change, this fell to 3 per 1000 catheter-days (P=.004). Similar falls followed the introduction of chlorhexidine to other wards.ConclusionThe introduction of chlorhexidine was followed by a profound, sustained fall in catheter-related infections. The results support the 2007 United Kingdom guidelines recommending 2% chlorhexidine in 70% isopropanol as a disinfectant of needleless connectors and hubs of central venous catheters.

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