What is a Central-Line Associated Blood Stream Infection (CLI-BSI)?
When a patient requires long-term medication or fluids through an IV (intravenous), a central line is put in place. A central line blood stream infection can occur when bacteria and/or fungi enters the blood stream, causing a patient to become sick. The bacteria can come from a variety of places (e.g., skin, wounds, environment, etc.), though it most often comes from the patient’s skin. Hospitals follow best practices on how to prevent bacteria from entering into a central line. Patients in the ICU often require a central line since they are seriously ill, and will require a lot of medication, for a long period of time. St. Francis Memorial Hospital Reporting Not all hospitals are considered “eligible” to report on central line infection rates. Only hospitals with ICUs that report into the government’s Critical Care Information System (CCIS) – a centralized data collection system where hospitals report a variety of critical care information – are reporting this data. Because we are not
