Impact of sterile gloving during proximal manipulation of central line catheter hub: the multicenter observational study CleanHandPROX

Background: Patients with central lines face an increased risk of developing bacteremia. Preventing late-onset catheter-related infections relies on implementing various measures during manipulations of the catheter hub of central lines (e.g., during connections, disconnections, blood withdrawals, pulsed rinses, or injections performed at the first connection after the central catheter). French guidelines include, among these measures, the requirement to put on sterile gloves immediately before proximal manipulation to help prevent contamination of the catheter hub during preparation. To our knowledge, no study has reported compliance with wearing sterile gloves during these manipulations, nor the impact of not wearing sterile gloves on the cleanliness of the fingers of healthcare workers (HCWs) just before manipulating the connectors.

Methods: We conducted a two-part study to assess compliance with sterile gloving and to provide direct microbiological evidence of bacterial contamination on HCWs' hands immediately before the manipulation of central lines when sterile gloving is not used. First, the use of sterile gloves was observed during proximal manipulations of central lines using a standardized grid. Second, we examined the microbial flora present on the fingers of each observed HCW just before proximal manipulation.

Results: A total of 260 HCWs from 35 healthcare institutions were observed during proximal manipulation. The HCWs were distributed into three groups: 188 used sterile gloves (72%), 23 used nonsterile gloves (9%), and 49 did not wear gloves (19%). The swabbing of the fingertips revealed microbial cultures from 72 samples (28%). A total of 97 microorganisms were identified, all of which are well-recognized agents responsible for catheter-related bacteremia, predominantly coagulase-negative staphylococci (n = 36) and Bacillus sp. (n = 31). Fingertip contamination was lower for HCWs wearing sterile gloves (27/188; 14%) than for those wearing nonsterile gloves (12/23; 52%) or not wearing gloves (33/49; 67%) (p < 0.001). The contaminants were similar across the three groups.

Conclusions: Our data support the positive impact of sterile gloving in ensuring clean fingertips during proximal manipulation of central lines, a key measure in preventing late-onset catheter-related bacteremia. The contamination of sterile gloves in one out of seven HCWs highlights the need for a clean care environment and minimal contact with the patient's skin and surroundings during proximal manipulation.