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08.04.10Needleless Connectors Article by William Jarvis, M.D.The article in the journal Infection Control Today (ICT) describes safety features that needleless connectors should possess to minimize the risk of catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI), which kill an estimated 30,000 American patients annually.
08.01.10Choosing the Best Design for Intravenous Needleless Connectors to Prevent HA-BSIby William R. Jarvis, MD. Infection Control Today, Vol. 14, No. 8, August 2010.
07.28.10Needleless Connectors Letter to Infection Control PractitionersThe Food and Drug Administration is requiring nine companies to conduct a postmarket surveillance study on positive displacement needleless connectors to assess whether they may be associated with a higher rate of device-associated bloodstream infections (BSI) than other types of needleless connectors, and to assess the factors that may contribute to a possible increased risk.

02.09.11Chernecky CANS 2010 Poster
12.15.09HA-BSI Associated with Negative or Positive Pressure Displacement Mechancial ValvesJarvis, et al. CID December 2009. "Furthermore, our data suggest that the SHEA-IDSA recommendations to not routinely use positive-pressure MV-NCs without extensive evaluation should be expanded to include negative-pressure MV-NCs, as well."
09.01.0833 Months at Zero - 2008 IHI PosterCatheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) are common, costly, and potentially lethal. (Mermel 2000) According to the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) system of the Centers for Disease control and prevention (CDC), the median rate of catheter-related bloodstream infection in ICUs of all types of catheters ranges from 1.8 to 5.2 per 1000 catheter days. The average cost of treating a CRBSI ranges from $25,000 to $45,000 per occurrence.(O’Grady 2002, NNIS2004) The major identified causes of CRBSI are bacterial contamination, migration of the catheter and catheter wall adhesion with subsequent biofilm development occurring during colonization of both the extraluminal catheter tract and intralumninal fluid pathway. (Ryder 2005) VAD selection, insertion site selection, surface disinfection (skin and septum), insertion technique, CVC care and maintenance, and connector design are critical to the prevention of bacterial contamination and colonization.

03.27.10SHEA 2010 Poster-Comparison of 5 Needleless I.V. Connectors of 4 Microorganism CFU Counts
03.21.10SHEA 2010 Poster-Comparative Effectiveness of 2 Antimicrobial Needleless I.V. Connectors
02.19.09InVision-Plus® 2009 Four-Day Microbial Barrier Performance StudyNelson Laboratories, Inc. an independent laboratory facility located in Salt Lake City, UT was contracted to conduct a evaluation of the microbial barrier performance of the InVision-Plus® with Neutral Advantage™ Technology, manufactured by RyMed Technologies, Inc.