Eliminating central line associated bloodstream infections in pediatric oncology patients: a quality improvement effort.

Reducing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) is a patient safety priority. This article describes the development of a quality improvement initiative to reduce central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) on one pediatric oncology ward. The initiative included four key interventions – huddles to improve identification of patients at risk for CLABSI, leadership safety rounds, partnership with the vascular access team, and hospital-acquired condition (HAC) rounding cards to prompt discussions on central line functionality. This multimodal approach led to a significant reduction in CLABSI rates between 2020 and 2021, and an increase in CLABSI-free days.