COMPARISON OF THE MICROBIAL BARRIER PROPERTIES OF A NEEDLELESS AND A CONVENTIONAL NEEDLE-BASED INTRAVENOUS ACCESS SYSTEM

Background: Sporadic reports of increased infection rates involving ne edleless access systems, especially in home-care settings, have raised questions concerning the safety of all needleless systems. Addressing this concern, Baxter Healthcare Corporation and the Centers for Disea se Control and Prevention performed parallel laboratory studies compar ing the microbial barrier properties of the Interlink (trademark of Ba xter Healthcare Corporation, Deerfield, Ill) needleless system with a conventional intravenous access system. Methods: Studies of needleless and conventional systems evaluated fluid path contamination introduce d through injection site septa, which were intentionally inoculated wi th high levels of bacteria and subsequently punctured with and without alcohol swabbing disinfection before access. Results: With disinfecti on, the combined effects of the disinfection technique and the barrier properties of the septa prevented the transfer of organisms into the fluid path in 94% to 96% of needleless rest articles and 96% to 100% o f conventional test articles. Without disinfection, the barrier proper ties of the septa alone prevented the transfer of organisms into the f luid path in 20% to 69% of needleless test articles and 10% to 28% of conventional test articles. Conclusions: The data demonstrate the need leless system performs as well as the conventional intravenous access system with respect to the risk of microbial contamination and reinfor ce the need for appropriate septum disinfection before accessing eithe r system (AJIC Am J Infect Control 1998;26:437-41).