Penn medicine draws road map for elimination of central line-associated bloodstream infections
Friday, March 20, 2009 - 18:35
in Health & Medicine
Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) fell by more than 90 percent during the past three years at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania due to a multi-pronged approach combining leadership initiatives, electronic infection surveillance, checklists to guide line insertion and maintenance, and implementation of the Toyota Production System to encourage best practices in line care. The findings, which Penn physicians say provide a road map for cutting the deadly, costly toll of hospital-acquired infections nationwide, will be presented on Friday, March 20 at the 19th Annual Meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA).