CLABSI

Central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) is a surveillance classification for a laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infection that is not attributable to another infection site. For the infection to meet the CNISP surveillance definition, a central line must have been in place for at least two calendar days, with the line present on the day of, or the day before, infection onset. This definition is not the same as proving that the catheter caused the infection. A patient may have a bloodstream infection from pneumonia, a urinary source, an abdominal infection, or another focus while also having a central line. Conversely, a catheter infection may require urgent treatment before all surveillance criteria are established. Bedside assessment and sepsis management should never be delayed while waiting to determine whether an episode meets the formal CLABSI definition. A related term, catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI), requires more direct evidence that the catheter is the source. Nurses should therefore avoid treating “central line present” and “central line caused the infection” as interchangeable conclusions.