A Systematic Review of Antimicrobial-Coated Catheters vs. Standard Catheters in Preventing Central Venous Catheter-Related Infections in the ICU

Abstract

Background: Central venous catheter-related infections (CRBSIs) represent a significant concern among ICU patients. Due to the critical illness of these patients, they are more vulnerable to CRBSIs. Standard catheters are vulnerable to microbial adherence and colonization. Antimicrobial-coated catheters have been proposed as the solution to address the limitations of standard catheters. Objective: This paper seeks to assess the effectiveness of using antimicrobial-coated catheters as compared to standard central venous catheters in preventing CRBSIs among patients admitted to the Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Study Design: A systematic review was conducted to address the above research objective. A detailed and comprehensive search was done to identify relevant studies on this topic. Findings from this literature were used to derive insights on the topic. Results: A total of 73.3% of the reviewed studies indicated that antimicrobial-coated catheters lower the incidence of CRBSIs. However, the impact of impregnated catheters on preventing CRBSIs ranges from moderate to minimal. The studies consistently concluded that antimicrobial-coated catheters reduce bacterial growth on either the tip or subcutaneous segment of the catheters. Additionally, the findings showed that all types of antimicrobial central venous catheters (CVCs) led to fewer ICU days and reduced medical costs. However, no differences in CRBSI mortality rates were observed among the various types of CVCs. Conclusion: While antimicrobial-coated catheters reduce the rate of CRBSIs in ICU patients, their impact is moderate. Hence, antimicrobial CVCs should be combined with other interventions for more resistant catheters.