WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT:CA-BSIs are a significant source of morbidity, mortality, and added medical costs to hospitalized adult and pediatric patients. Despite these data, strategies for reducing health care complications such as pediatric CA-BSIs have received relatively little attention. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:In contrast with adult ICU care, maximizing insertion-bundle compliance alone cannot help PICUs to eliminate CA-BSIs. Instead, the main drivers for additional reductions in pediatric CA-BSI rates seem to be issues surrounding daily maintenance care for central lines.abstract OBJECTIVE: Despite the magnitude of the problem of catheter-associated bloodstream infections (CA-BSIs) in children, relatively little research has been performed to identify effective strategies to reduce these complications. In this study, we aimed to develop and evaluate effective cathetercare practices to reduce pediatric CA-BSIs. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS:Our study was a multi-institutional, interrupted time-series design with historical control data and was conducted in 29 PICUs across the United States. Two central venous catheter-care practice bundles comprised our intervention: the insertion bundle of pediatric-tailored care elements derived from adult efforts and the maintenance bundle derived from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and expert pediatric clinician consensus. The bundles were deployed with quality-improvement teaching and methods to support their adoption by teams at the participating PICUs. The main outcome measures were the rate of CA-BSIs from January 2004 to September 2007 and compliance with each element of the insertion and maintenance bundles from October 2006 to September 2007. RESULTS:Average CA-BSI rates were reduced by 43% across 29 PICUs (5.4 vs 3.1 CA-BSIs per 1000 central-line-days; P Ͻ .0001). By September 2007, insertion-bundle compliance was 84% and maintenance-bundle compliance was 82%. Hierarchical regression modeling showed that the only significant predictor of an observed decrease in infection rates was the collective use of the insertion and maintenance bundles, as demonstrated by the relative rate (RR) and confidence intervals (CIs) (RR: 0.57 [95% CI: 0.45-0.74]; P Ͻ .0001). We used comparable modeling to assess the relative importance of the insertion versus maintenance bundles; the results showed that the only significant predictor of an infection-rate decrease was maintenancebundle compliance (RR: 0.41 [95% CI: 0.20 -0.85]; P ϭ .017). CONCLUSIONS:In contrast with adult ICU care, maximizing insertionbundle compliance alone cannot help PICUs to eliminate CA-BSIs. The main drivers for additional reductions in pediatric CA-BSI rates are issues that surround daily maintenance care for central lines, as defined in our maintenance bundle. Additional research is needed to define the optimal maintenance bundle that will facilitate elimination of CA-BSIs for children. Catheter-associated bloodstream infections (CA-BSIs) are a significant cause of morbidity, morta...

Focused attention on consistent adherence to the use of pediatrics-specific central line insertion and maintenance bundles produced sustained, continually decreasing PICU CLA-BSI rates. Additional use of either chlorhexidine for central line entry scrub or chlorhexidine-impregnated sponges did not produce any statistically significant additional reduction in PICU CLA-BSI rates.

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Outcomes of patients transported by an experienced extracorporeal membrane oxygenation team to a busy extracorporeal membrane oxygenation center are very comparable to outcomes of nontransported extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients as reported in the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization registry. As has been previously reported, interhospital extracorporeal membrane oxygenation transport is feasible and can be accomplished safely. Other experienced extracorporeal membrane oxygenation centers may want to consider developing interhospital extracorporeal membrane oxygenation transport capabilities to better serve patients in different geographic regions.

The practice of pediatric/neonatal interfacility transport continues to expand. Transport teams have evolved into mobile ICUs capable of delivering state-of-the-art critical care during pediatric and neonatal transport. The most recent document regarding the practice of pediatric/neonatal transport is more than a decade old. The following article details changes in the practice of interfacility transport over the past decade and expresses the consensus views of leaders in the field of transport medicine, including the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Section on Transport Medicine.