Comparative risk of bloodstream infection in hospitalized patients receiving intravenous medication by open, point-of-care, or closed delivery systems.
Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2013 Jun 1;70(11):957-965
Authors: Mercaldi CJ, Lanes S, Bradt J
Abstract
PURPOSE: The impact of i.v. drug delivery via point-of-care (POC)-activated and closed systems versus traditional manual admixture systems on the risk of hospital-acquired bloodstream infection (BSI) is examined. METHODS: Using data from a proprietary hospital database, a retrospective observational cohort study of patients receiving one or more i.v. drug administrations via POC-activated or closed systems during a three-year period (2007-09) was conducted. Cases of hospital-acquired BSI were identified using diagnosis codes and billing charges for blood cultures and antibiotic use. The risk of BSI in patients with exposure to POC-activated systems, closed systems, or both relative to that of patients exposed to open systems was estimated by odds ratios (ORs) calculated by multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The evaluated data indicated that of the 4,073,864 patients included in the study cohort, 0.5% (n = 20,251) experienced hospital-acquired BSI. After adjusting for selected confounding variables, the use of POC-activated systems was associated with a 16% reduction in BSI risk relative to the use of open systems (OR, 0.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76-0.93), and the use of closed systems correlated with a 12% risk reduction (OR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.82-0.96). Patients who received i.v. drugs via both POC-activated and closed systems appeared to derive the greatest relative risk reduction benefit (OR, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.06-0.23). CONCLUSION: Use of POC-activated and closed systems for i.v. drug delivery was associated with a significantly reduced risk of hospital-acquired BSI compared with exclusive use of open systems in a large population of hospitalized patients.
PMID: 23686602 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]