LAUSR

BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a considerable impact on US hospitalizations, affecting processes and patient population. METHODS We evaluated the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in 78 US hospitals on central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) and catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) events 12 months pre-COVID-19 and 6 months during COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS There were 795,022 central line-days and 817,267 urinary catheter-days over the two study periods. Compared to pre-COVID-19 period, CLABSI rates increased during the pandemic period from 0.56 to 0.85 (51.0%) per 1,000 line-days (p<0.001) and from 1.00 to 1.64 (62.9%) per 10,000 patient-days (p<0.001). Hospitals with monthly COVID-19 patients representing >10% of admissions had a NHSN device standardized infection ratio for CLABSI that was 2.38 times higher compared to those with <5% prevalence during the pandemic period (p=0.004). Coagulase-negative staphylococcus CLABSI increased by 130% from 0.07 to 0.17 events per 1,000 line-days (p<0.001), and Candida sp. by 56.9% from 0.14 to 0.21 per 1,000 line-days (p=0.01). In contrast, no significant changes were identified for CAUTI (0.86 vs. 0.77 per 1,000 catheter-days; p=0.19). CONCLUSIONS The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with substantial increases in CLABSI but not CAUTI events. Our findings underscore the importance of hardwiring processes for optimal line care, and regular feedback on performance to maintain a safe environment.