1081 Literature Review www.expert-reviews.com ISSN 1478-7210 © 2009 Expert Reviews Ltd 10.1586/ERI.09.83 Literature Review Recent advances in burn treatment have increased the survival of severely burned vic- tims; however, infection-prevention and control still remain a major challenge for health profes- sionals, not only because of the lesions them- selves, but also owing to the range of invasive procedures their treatment requires, with central or peripheral devices being vital to that treat- ment [1–3] . The burn victim already runs vari- ous other risks of infection, such as immuno- suppression, prolonged intensive hospital care, pharmacological therapy and the very gravity of the trauma itself. During the acute burn phase, devices are nec- essary to replace fuids and to administer medi- cines and analgesics, among other things, further facilitating the development of infections related to central venous catheters (CVCs) caused by fre- quent handling [1,2,4] . In burn patients with 30% or more of the total body surface area (TBSA) burned, the rates of CVC-related infection are higher than in any other patient. This is associ- ated with the hematogenous seeding of venous catheters that frequently occurs, the colonized or infected burn wound, and the often neces- sary placement of catheters near or through the wound in patients with a large TBSA burned [5] . Over the last two decades, there has been a considerable increase in the use of intravascu- lar catheters by various specialities and health services, increasing the risk for the development of an infection related to these devices [6] . This trend is refected by the growing number of stud- ies examining the use of CVCs and the preven- tion of related infections in inpatients, especially in intensive care units [7,8] . In a study carried out with 114 adults and pedi- atric patients in a burns unit, in which the average length of insertion of the catheter was 10.2 days, the average total length of catheterization was 24 days, and the total number of catheter days was 2768, the author found coagulase-negative Staphylococci to be the most frequent infecting pathogen and an incidence of 1.44 endogenous colonization per 1000 catheter-days [4] . The aim of this review is to discuss the stud- ies that address nursing prevention of catheter- related infection in burn patients, through an integrative review of the literature. This type of review allows for both empirical and theoreti- cal studies to be included and helps the topic of study to be viewed through the eyes of different researchers who have covered specifc themes or who have developed personal opinions about the topic. This approach also makes it possible to bet- ter understand problems in healthcare provision and to identify areas of knowledge that demand further research [9] . The objective of this review was to iden- tify available scientific evidence regarding Maria E Echevarria-Guanilo, Caroline L Ciof-Silva, Silvia R Canini, Jayme A Farina Jr and Lidia A Rossi † † Author for correspondence Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto 14040-902, São Paulo, Brazil Tel.: +55 163 602 3402 Fax: +55 163 633 3271 rizzardo@eerp.usp.br Venous catheters are associated with severe complications that present high morbidity and mortality rates. The objective of this study was to identify the available scientifc evidence regarding nursing interventions for the prevention of infections related to the presence of central or peripheral venous catheters in burn patients. We performed a search of the PubMed, Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information and Cochrane databases from March 2008 to March 2009. There is only limited evidence regarding interventions that may have a positive impact in preventing venous catheter-related infection in burn victims. We recommend the interpretation of the CDC guidelines as a basis to organize protocols to prevent catheter-related infection in burns. KEYWORDS: burns • care • catheterization • infection • nursing Preventing infections due to intravascular catheters in burn victims Expert Rev. Anti Infect. Ther. 7(9), 1081–1086 (2009) For reprint orders, please contact reprints@expert-reviews.com