CATheter infections in Children (CATCH)

Funder: NIHR HTA

Collaborating Investigators/Institutions: Ruth Gilbert [PI] MRC Centre of Epidemiology for Child Health, UCL Institute of Child Health, Quen Mok Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust, Angie  Wade UCL Institute of Child Health , Michael Millar Barts and the London NHS Trust, Carrol Gamble MCRN CTU, University of Liverpool, Oliver Bagshaw Birmingham Children's Hospital, Shane  Tibby  Evelina Children's Hospital, Padmanabhan Ramnarayan Great Ormond Street Hospital, Hazel Greig-Midlane Consumer representative, Helen Hickey University of Liverpool, Jane Cassidy Freeman Hospital

Project Summary:Central venous catheters (CVCs) are widely used in the NHS with an estimated 238,000 inserted each year. CVCs are used in intensive and high dependency care to provide venous access for resuscitation, drug delivery, intravenous feeding, monitoring, and blood sampling. Their main disadvantage is nosocomial infection. A UK study suggested that up to half of hospital acquired blood stream infection is device related, and most of these infections are associated with CVCs. The study will be a pragmatic, 3-arm randomised controlled clinical trial comparing standard, antibiotic impregnated, or heparin bonded CVCs in UK Paediatric Intensive Care Units.

Links: SRCTN34884569; http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN34884569 ; trial website: http://www.catchtrial.org.uk/