Central Catheter‐Related Infections: Comparison of Pulmonary Artery Catheters and Triple Lumen Catheters for the Delivery of Hyperalimentation in a Critical Care Setting

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Abstract
We prospectively studied the risk of catheter-related sepsis (CRS) in 75 critically ill patients who received total parenteral nutrition (TPN) through 158 pulmonary artery catheters (PACs) and 214 triple-lumen catheters (TLCs). We relied on semiquantitative cultures of the catheter tips, peripheral blood cultures in febrile patients and clinical response to catheter removal to diagnose catheter-related sepsis. The infection rate was 2.5% (4/158) of PACs and 6.5% (14/214) of TLCs (p=0.124). Colonization rates were 29.1% for PACs and 32% for TLCs. PACs were left in place a significantly shorter length of time than TLCs, 3.1 vs 5.1 days (p(Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition14:588-592, 1990)