Australian National Health and Medical Research Council.

The original randomized controlled trial on which this secondary analysis is based is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (http://www.anzctr.org.au; ACTRN12608000445370).

The incidence of catheter-related bloodstream infection from arterial catheters was low. However, both arterial catheter colonization and rates of catheter-related bloodstream infection were similar to those in concurrently sited and identically managed central venous catheters. By inference, the arterial catheter should be accorded the same degree of importance as the central venous catheter as a potential source of sepsis.