How to meet new infection control guidelines from the Joint Commission and those contained in the  SHEA/IDSA Compendium will be the focus of a panel discussion at the upcoming annual meeting of the Association for Vascular Access (AVA). 

Discussing the new guidelines for disinfecting IV catheter components will be three experts: Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed, RN, CRNI; Gregory Schears, MD; and Kelly Fugate, ND, RN, of the Joint Commission.

The symposium, "Preventing Intra-Luminal Contamination from CRBSIs: Complying with New Guidelines," will be held from 6:45 a.m. to 8 a.m., on Sept. 16 in Room Royale 8 of the Riviera Hotel, in Las Vegas, site of AVA`s annual meeting. 

Sponsoring this educational presentation is Excelsior Medical, makers of the FDA-cleared SwabCap -- the luer access valve disinfection cap that promotes technique standardization. 

A new guideline implementing a National Patient Safety Goal of the Joint Commission requires that as of January 2010, hospitals use a standardized protocol to disinfect items such as a lure access valves, catheter hubs and injection ports. 

Similar to the Joint Commission guideline, the recently issued SHEA/IDSA Compendium calls for the cleaning of catheter hubs, needle-less connectors, and injection ports, prior to accessing central venous and peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs). The Compendium`s Practice Recommendations were developed by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA). 

"The Joint Commission and SHEA/IDSA protocols have prompted many institutions to consider how they can improve their protocols for preventing catheter-related bloodstream infections. It is known that these potentially deadly infections can result from improperly disinfected valves, ports and hubs," said Schears. "This panel at the AVA meeting will provide a helpful summary of the new protocols, as well as recommendations on how vascular access nurses can comply with best clinical practice." 

Catheter-related bloodstream infections constitute a significant threat in hospital settings, with a mortality rate of 12 percent to 25 percent. Each infection costs from $25,000 to $45,000 per case to treat, according to the CDC. 

Schears is an anesthesiologist and specialist in pediatric critical care medicine. He has a longstanding interest in vascular access and reducing patient-related complications using technology. He is also the physician liaison to the nurse PICC team at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Lynn Hadaway is widely published on vascular access devices, the management of infusion and vascular access complications, and related topics. She heads Lynn Hadaway Associates. Kelly Fugate is an associate project director for the Joint Commission`s Divisions of Standards and Survey Methods. She coordinates standards development in infection prevention and control, among other fields.