Central line associated blood stream infections (CLABSIs) are an important and often preventable cause of serious illness. Immunocompromised children, such as those with cancer, are at particular risk. Although there have been many quality-improvement collaboratives that focus on reducing CLABSI, the report by Rinke et al. (doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-0295) is the first that I am aware that has focused on children hospitalized with cancer. One of the interesting findings is how long it took for the improvement to occur. The report clearly describes all of the steps they implemented, and includes helpful tools that could be widely implemented.
