Abstract
Catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) is a common and life-threatening infectious complication of home parenteral nutrition (PN). CRBSI is associated with hospital admissions, morbidity, mortality, loss of venous access, and healthcare costs. Ethanol has bactericidal and fungicidal properties, making it an ideal locking solution for preventing CRBSI. The authors report 6 patients with a recurrence of CRBSI when ethanol lock (ETL) was withheld due to a national shortage. This is the first known report of the ramifications of a national ethanol shortage on redevelopment of CRBSI in home PN patients with a history of CRBSIs. This series further supports the existing literature showing that ETL is a viable therapy for the prevention of CRBSIs, warranting prospective research. The impact of an ethanol shortage due to a sole-source manufacturer supports the need for the Food and Drug Administration to regulate pharmaceutical products to avoid shortages.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
