Progress in reducing adverse events and harm in patients admitted to hospital has been agonisingly slow despite intensive efforts to improve patients' safety.1 Nonetheless, there are a few bright spots, including progress in prevention of hospital-acquired central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs). Until recently, clinicians who cared for critically ill patients with central venous catheters believed that CLABSIs were an inevitable result of using invasive devices. Industry responded by developing new technologies, including catheters and exit-site dressings that were impregnated with broad-spectrum antimicrobials. Clinical trials of these devices produced mixed results for reduction of CLABSI incidence in participating intensive-care units (ICUs).23
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