RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Catheter-related bloodstream infections in palliative care patients receiving parenteral nutrition by medical home care JF BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care JO BMJ Support Palliat Care FD British Medical Journal Publishing Group SP bmjspcare-2020-002331 DO 10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002331 A1 Anna Schedin A1 Charlotte Goodrose-Flores A1 Stephanie Bonn A1 Linda Björkhem-Bergman YR 2020 UL http://spcare.bmj.com/content/early/2020/09/16/bmjspcare-2020-002331.abstract AB Background Catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) constitute a major complication associated with the use of central venous lines (CVL). The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence proportion and risk factors of CRSBI in palliative care patients with CVL receiving home parenteral nutrition (HPN).Methods Medical records from patients admitted to a medical home care unit in stockholm, Sweden, during 2017 were reviewed (n=1022) and 454 palliative care patients with a CVL were identified. Data on CRBSI cases, HPN exposure time, type of parenteral nutrition (PN), age, diagnosis and type of CVL were collected.Results Twenty-nine of 143 patients receiving HPN through a CVL were diagnosed with a CRBSI (20%). Nine of 311 patients with CVL without exposure for HPN developed CRBSI (3%). The risk of a CRBSI was significantly higher in patients receiving HPN compared with those not receiving HPN, OR 8.5 (95% CI 4.0 to 18.7). For those receiving HPN six to seven times a week the risk was even higher, OR 13 (95% CI 5.1 to 30.3). The highest incidence proportion of CRBSI (31%) was found in a home care team where patients had been trained to disconnect themselves from the PN drip. Sex, cancer versus non-cancer, type of CVL or protein content in the PN, did not differ between patients that developed CRBSI versus those that did not develop the outcome.Conclusion HPN entails a high risk of CRBSI. A high frequency of PN and incautious handling of the disconnection of the drip, seem to be the most important risk factors.