Epidemic Bloodstream Infections from Hemodynamic Pressure Monitoring: Signs of the Times

Abstract

Arterial pressure monitoring is an essential feature of the care of approximately 80% of the millions of patients cared for in hospital intensive care units in this country each year.',2 Despite numerous reports of epidemic bloodstream infection traced to pressure monitoring3-21 and published guidelines for safe use of hemodynamic monitoring,22,23 outbreaks of nosocomial bacteremia have continued to plague unwary users of this special application of infusion therapy. In this issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology (pp 54-59), Beck-Sague and Jarvis report eight outbreaks of nosocomial bloodstream infection traced to contamination of transducers used for