Arterial Lines Do Cause Bloodstream Infections

Joseph Esherick, M.D., FAAFP, FHM
More Articles – Arterial line, Cardiovascular diseases, Infections, medical procedures
More Tags – Arterial lines, bloodstream infections, HPC updates, Vascular access
Arterial lines are not completely benign.  They can definitely cause catheter-related bloodstream infections.  This study shows that arterial lines have a rate of bloodstream infection of about 1 in 1,000 catheter days.  Femoral arterial lines have a higher rate of…
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Ultrasound-guided Thoracentesis Reduces the Rate of Pneumothorax and Tube Thoracostomy

Joseph Esherick, M.D., FAAFP, FHM
More Articles – Cardiovascular diseases, Central line, Chest Tube, Emergency Procedures, medical procedures, Paracentesis, Thoracentesis
More Tags – HPC updates, thoracentesis, ultrasound-guided procedures, Ultrasound-guided thoracentesis
Numerous studies have shown that ultrasound guidance lowers the rate of complications and increases the success rate for virtually every hospital procedure compared with traditional landmark-based techniques. This has proved to be the case for ultrasound-guided central lines, ultrasound-guided paracentesis,…
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