A prospective study was done in 139 intravascular catheters (IVCs) that had been removed for different reasons. The purpose of the study was to compare laboratory procedures for the diagnosis of catheter-related infections and also to attempt to clarify the present controversy regarding the portal of entry of such infections.... Of the 139 IVCs studied, 53 (38.1%) were infected.... Semiquantitative and quantitative cultures gave comparable results, but the semiquantitative procedure proved to be easier and faster.... In patients with suspected catheter-related infections but negative superficial cultures, the possibility of infection may reasonably be ruled out, thereby avoiding many unnecessary catheter withdrawals.

Abstracted by permission from Arch Intern Med 1990;150(Ju1):1417-1420. Copyright 1990, American Medical Association.