(Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infection)

Patient safety remains the most important priority for RRHS, and this involves ensuring that patients are not at risk for contracting healthcare-associated infections.

Ontario hospitals are required to post quarterly Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infection (CLI-BSI) rates to further promote accountability and transparency within the health system.

What is a Central-Line Associated Blood Stream Infection (CLI-BSI)?
When a patient requires long-term access to medication or fluids through an IV, a central line is put in place. A central line BSI can occur when bacteria and/or fungi enters the blood stream, causing a patient to become sick. The bacteria can come from a variety of places (e.g., skin, wounds, environment, etc.), though it most often comes from the patient’s skin.

Hospitals follow best practices on how to prevent bacteria from entering into a central line. Patients in the ICU often require a central line since they are seriously ill, and will require a lot of medication, for a long period of time.

Formulae to calculate:

(total # of ICU related BSIs after 48 hours of central line placement  total # of central line days for ICU patients 18 years and older) 1000
Note: Reporting of CLI-BSI rates is not applicable for AHI as they do not have ICU beds.

What is the rate at TDMH?