CDC Awards ASN Contract for Continued Dialysis Bloodstream Infection Research

Bloodstream infections can be life-threatening to individuals undergoing kidney dialysis. Following infection control procedures is critical, yet best practices may not always occur at busy dialysis facilities.

The American Society of Nephrology’s (ASN) Nephrologists Transforming Dialysis Safety (NTDS) initiative has been awarded a contract by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to study barriers to implementation of recommended practices to reduce dialysis-related infections.

The project, for which NTDS will partner with human factors researchers from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, will focus on four areas of patient safety: central venous catheter access and care, dialysis station disinfection, hand hygiene, and injection safety.

This work expands current NTDS infection prevention efforts and will consist of human factors engineers observing six dialysis facilities. Dialysis facilities chosen for this project will include a diverse representation of size, location, company affiliation, central venous catheter rates and bloodstream infection rates. Assessments will begin this summer and are set to conclude in mid-July 2019.

“CDC has a strong interest in using human factors principles to help increase adoption of infection prevention practices in outpatient dialysis centers,” said Priti Patel, MD, MPH, a medical officer with CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion and Director of the Making Dialysis Safer for Patients Coalition. “This new effort with NTDS is an important step toward advancing the safety of dialysis patients.”

NTDS project chair Alan S. Kliger, MD, clinical professor of medicine at Yale University School of Medicine and vice president as well as medical director of clinical integration at Yale New Haven Health System, said the organization is tremendously excited about this new opportunity to transform the dialysis environment and engage physician leaders in targeting zero infections.

“Two years ago, the NTDS team initiated a partnership with the CDC in the critical arena of transforming safety in dialysis clinics,” said Kliger. “Our work includes a successful series of educational webinars and Kidney Week symposia, a collection of journal articles by nationally-regarded physicians, the development of an infection prevention curriculum for fellows and pilot projects focused on effective leadership, culture change and its effect on bloodstream infection reduction. We are excited to see where this research will lead.”

Source: American Society of Nephrology (ASN)