Prolonged Venous Catheterization as a Cause of Sepsis

Abstract

A SURVEY of all patients with positive blood cultures on the adult medical and surgical services of the Yale–New Haven Hospital was begun in January, 1966, to study the incidence, etiology and clinical course of sepsis in this medical center. It soon became apparent that polyethylene cannulas, whether placed for intravenous therapy or to measure venous pressure, were a major cause of sepsis in this hospital. The purpose of this report is to describe 10 patients, 9 with septicemia and 1 with endocarditis, in whom bloodstream dissemination of bacteria resulted from infection complicating venous eatheterization, and to make suggestions regarding diagnosis, . . .