ABSTRACT
Some 80,000 patients in U.S. intensive care units (ICUs) develop central venous catheter-related infections each year (1,2), and even more do so throughout the rest of the health system (3). The variable outcome of catheter-related infections reflects the fact that a myriad of microbes may cause such infections. Staphylococcus aureus and Candida species are associated with the greatest morbidity and mortality (4,5). Despite the potential seriousness of such infections, scant data exist in the literature regarding evidence-based management. Guidelines have been recently published to assist clinicians caring for patients with catheter-related infections (3,6), and many of the chapters in this book include sections on the management of infections related to particular devices and pathogens. The purpose of this chapter is to summarize some of the salient features of the published guide-
MD: SEIFERT, JOB: 04392,
lines regarding management and to discuss some of the controversial management issues.
