Feasibility and power of barrier trials

Dr. Ben Weaver and Dr. Elisa Walsh (@elisacwalsh) from Massachusetts General Hospital join the show to discuss the literature around the infectious risk of arterial catheters and the role of barrier precautions.

This is the first episode produced from a new podcast elective that's available to MGH anesthesia residents. Special thanks to Dr. Saddawi-Konefka for supporting the initiative.

Thanks for listening!

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Email us at depthofanesthesia@gmail.com with episode ideas or if you'd like to join our team.

Music by Stephen Campbell, MD.

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References

Cohen DM, Carino GP, Heffernan DS, et al. Arterial catheter use in the ICU: A national survey of antiseptic technique and perceived infectious risk. Crit Care Med. 2015;43(11):2346-2353. doi:10.1097/CCM.0000000000001250

Koh DBC, Gowardman JR, Rickard CM. Prospective study of peripheral arterial catheter infection and comparison with concurrently sited central venous catheters (Critical Care Medicine (2008) 36, (397-402)). Crit Care Med. 2008;36(4):1394. doi:10.1097/CCM.0b013e31816e6d16

Lucet JC, Bouadma L, Zahar JR, et al. Infectious risk associated with arterial catheters compared with central venous catheters. Crit Care Med. 2010;38(4):1030-1035. doi:10.1097/CCM.0b013e3181d4502e

O'Horo JC, Maki DG, Krupp AE, Safdar N. Arterial catheters as a source of bloodstream infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Crit Care Med. 2014;42(6):1334-1339. doi:10.1097/CCM.0000000000000166

Raad II, Hohn DC, Gilbreath BJ, et al. Prevention of Central Venous Catheter-Related Infections by Using Maximal Sterile Barrier Precautions during Insertion Srr PREVENTION OF CENTRAL VENOUS CATHETER-RELATED INFECTIONS BY USING MAXIMAL STERILE BARRIER. 1994;15(4).

Rijnders BJA, Van Wijngaerden E, Wilmer A, Peetermans WE. Use of full sterile barrier precautions during insertion of arterial catheters: A randomized trial. Clin Infect Dis. 2003;36(6):743-748. doi:10.1086/367936

Rijnders BJA, Wijngaerden E Van, Peetermans WE. Catheter-Tip Colonization as a Surrogate End Point in Clinical Studies on Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infection : How Strong Is the Evidence ? 2002;35:1053-1058.