A New Strategy Annals of Internal Medicine 15 August 1997.
Intravascular catheters are integral to the practice of modern medicine.
These devices are used to deliver life-sustaining fluids, such as antimicrobial agents, parenteral nutrition, and blood or blood products, and to monitor the hemodynamic status of critically ill patients. The various types of catheters differ in their associated risk for infection. The two studies reported in this issue provide additional evidence to support the clinical applicability of antiseptic or antimicrobial coating of catheters. The beneficial effect of these catheters in reducing catheter-related bloodstream infection seemed greatest in the first 10 days of catheter use. The authors did not report the effect of catheters coated with minocycline and rifampin in reducing microbial colonization of the catheter insertion site.