Reducción postintervención de las bacteriemias relacionadas a líneas vasculares en Unidades de Cuidados Intensivos Pediátrica y Neonatal

introduction. intravascular catheter-related infection is the major complication in patients with intravascular catheter. intravascular catheter-related infection rate is derived by dividing the number of these infections between day-line vascular catheters and multiplied x 1 000. the rates have been reported to be as high as 11.3 x 1 000 catheter-days, increasing hospitalization days, morbidity and mortality. educational initiatives decrease the rate of intravascular catheter-related infections according to different studies. we undertook this study to determine the rate of intravascular catheter-related infections in pediatric and neonatal intensive care units in a general hospital, as well as to establish preventive educational actions and quantify their impact. methods. we compared the rate of intravascular catheter-related infections before and after an educational intervention. results. during the first period, we found 25 intravascular catheter-related infections in 2 280 catheter-days with a rate of 10.9 x 1 000 catheter-days. following the educational initiatives, we found 16 intravascular catheter-related infections in 2 850 catheter-days and the rate decreased to 5.6, which was statistically significant. conclusions. educational initiatives aimed at decreasing the rate of intravascular catheter-related infections were shown to be effective.