Int J Infect Control 2013, v9:i2 doi: 10.3396/ijic.v9i2.013.13 Page 1 of 4 not for citation purposes CRBSI in ICU: A study from North India Gahlot et al. Rupam Gahlot 1 , Chaitanya Nigam 2 , Vikas Kumar 1 , Munesh Gupta 1 1. Department of Microbiology, Institute of Medical sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India 2. Department of Microbiology LSBRKM Medical College Jagdalpur, Ayush University Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India International Journal of Infection Control ISSN 1996-9783 www.ijic.info doi: 10.3396/ijic.v9i2.013.13 Catheter Related Blood Stream Infections in ICU: A study from North India ORIGINAL ARtICLe Abstract Central venous catheter (CVC) insertion is common in ICU practices; this can be a source of dangerous bacteremia, sepsis, multi organ failure and sometimes even death. We conducted this study to fnd out the rate of Catheter colonization, Catheter related blood stream infections (CRBSI), their association and microbial spectrum of CRBSI in critical care unit over 1 year period. Patients admitted in critical care units requiring central venous catheterization and presenting with signs of septicemia during catheterization period were investigated for catheter related blood stream infections. tip of Central venous catheter (CVC) as well as peripheral blood for culture were obtained simultaneously and processed according to pre determined protocol. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done for the isolated organisms. CRBSI rate of 10/1000 catheter days was observed, with Staphylococcus spp. as the most common organism. Since central venous catheters are increasingly being used in the critical care, regular surveillance for infections associated with them is essential. Key words Catheter-related infections; Central venous catheters; Intensive care units; Microbial sensitivity tests; Catheterization, central venous and adverse effects Corresponding Author Rupam Gahlot Department of Microbiology, Institute of Medical sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India email: rupam.gahlot@gmail.com