THE POTENTIAL REDUCTION OF MICROBIAL-CONTAMINATION OF CENTRAL VENOUS CATHETERS

The microbial contamination of stopcock entry ports attached to centra l venous catheters (CVC) was determined using a specially designed swa b. The swab was made of a highly porous material, Porex(R), and was de signed to fit exactly into the entry port of stopcocks. The swab was u sed to determine the frequency of microbial contamination of entry por ts attached to CVC in patients located on an Intensive Care Unit. Of t he 200 swabs obtained 44 (22%) contained microorganisms. Coagulase-neg ative staphylococci were recovered from 43 of the swabs and diphtheroi d bacilli from 1 swab. In vitro studies were carried out to investigat e the efficiency of the swab in removing excess residual fluid and org anisms from entry ports. The swab absorbed relatively large numbers of bacteria within seconds. When entry ports were inoculated with betwee n 10(3) and 10(5) cfu of either Staphylococcus epidermidis or Klebsiel la pneumoniae greater than 99% of the organisms were absorbed by the s wab (P<0.01). The absorbent swab was more efficient at removing S. epi dermidis from the entry port when compared to a standard cotton swab ( P<0.01). In vitro this absorbent swab reduced the potential for cathet er contamination resulting from migration of organisms from the entry port via the intraluminal route. The use of the swab in the clinical s ituation may reduce the incidence of CVC-related infections.