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The good news is that there is a lot that patients and caregivers can do
to prevent these infections from happening. In April 2009, the Centers
for Disease Control launched a collaborative project with dialysis centers
across the United States to prevent bloodstream infections among dialysis
patients. Guidelines were developed and implemented which led to a 32%
decrease in overall bloodstream infections and a 54% decrease in vascular
access-related bloodstream infections among dialysis patients. 3 There are
precautions you can take at home as well:
• Keep your catheter bandage clean and dry. If your bandage gets wet,
notify your healthcare professional.
• Check your vascular access daily for signs of infection such as redness,
pus and swelling. Notify your healthcare professional if you notice
these signs.
• Make sure that all healthcare providers clean their hands with soap
and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer before and after caring for
you or your vascular access site. If they think they did, ask them, don’t
be afraid to speak up.
• Follow your healthcare team’s recommendations regarding diet,
medication and dialysis treatments. Consume adequate amounts of
protein, calories and nutrients to build your body’s immune system.
In addition, there are several pharmaceutical products that may be useful
in preventing catheter related bloodstream infections. These include
application of an antimicrobial ointment to the exit site of the catheter and
infusing an antimicrobial solution into the catheter lumen after a dialysis
procedure. 4
Researchers are exploring new tools to help prevent these infections. A
number of doctors around the country are participating in a trial called
LOCK-IT-100, testing whether an investigational new drug solution called
Neutrolin could help to safely prevent catheter-related infections and
blood clots when instilled into your central venous/dialysis catheter. More
information about this trial and other ongoing studies to prevent and treat
catheter related bloodstream infections can be found at www.clinicaltrials.
gov.
Researchers, doctors, nurses, patients and caregivers can do a lot to prevent
catheter related bloodstream infections. As these groups work together to
refine techniques, we can make these infections more rare each year.
3 http://www.nephrologynews.com/dialysis-bloodstream-infections-significantly-re-
duced-by-following-cdc-guidelines/
4 http://www.ajkd.org/article/S0272-6386(04)01078-9/abstract?cc=y=
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