INFECTION CONTROL
Improving safety of IV catheters Amy Sarcevic
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new type of research method is helping to identify best practice around intravascular (IV) catheter usage, in a bid to drive down the 3500 cases of bloodstream infection (BSI) that occur annually in Australia. Each year, more than two billion central and peripheral IV catheters are used around the world, with the devices accounting for 35% of all healthcare-associated BSIs. While a large volume of research has already explored the issue, much of the literature has focused on single aspects of catheter usage, such as product type or method of insertion. In contrast, this new research method, known as a platform trial, can measure multiple variables at speed and provide a more holistic picture, explained lead researcher Professor Claire Rickard, Professor of Infection Prevention and Vascular Access, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, University of Queensland. “Studies that look at isolated aspects of catheter usage can generate really goodquality data, but the problem is there are just so many things that need testing: antimicrobial products, nursing and medical procedures, etc. It can take years to amass enough data and, by that time, more questions have likely arisen, so we are never getting the full, current picture of best practice. “With a platform trial, we can answer multiple questions at once and get the guidance we need more efficiently,” she told Hospital + Healthcare. 16
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How does it work?
The platform trial method involves ongoing data collection, using the same dataset, but with different research questions. “Essentially, we are just swapping in and out the different experimental interventions,” Rickard said. The method proved particularly useful throughout COVID-19, during which time there were lots of rapidly changing treatment questions. “We didn’t have 20 years to work out the answers — we needed them asap; and a platform trial enabled researchers to do that.” While it is an efficient method, Rickard admitted it can be challenging to execute. “Platform trials are quite ambitious and complex. They require us to step up new SPRING 2023
statistical methods and work with other groups who have worked in this space before” she said.
Product evaluation is especially important
Rickard’s IV Care Platform Trial will be particularly beneficial in the realm of product evaluation, given that the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has already approved more than 3500 IV products for use in Australia. “Unlike pharmaceutical products, health device manufacturers are not required to provide efficacy data for their products; and there is no formal R&D section within the health system that evaluates products in use.
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