CLABSI: Definition and Diagnosis

Surveillance is an active process that requires a proactive review of data sources indicative of an infection. The most common starting point is review of positive blood cultures. Based on the model of surveillance and reporting in the United States, if it is determined that a bloodstream infection is associated with a central venous access device (CVAD), specific data is collected and reported to governmental agencies. Other parts of the world do not have mandatory reporting. Surveillance data are used in a variety of ways including rating of hospitals for patient satisfaction, reimbursement/value-based purchasing calculations, comparison to other hospitals of similar bed size, central line device utilization ratio to determine if a hospital is using an inordinate ratio of central catheters, determination of a standardized infection ratio and outcome measurement in quality improvement programmes. This chapter aims to define how surveillance is performed and the various uses of the gathered/reported information.