Comparison between sodium bicarbonate and ethanol for central line locks
Abstract:
Objectives: Children with intestinal failure (IF) require central venous catheters for parenteral nutrition and are at risk for central line associated blood stream infections (CLABSI). Prophylactic ethanol lock therapy has historically been used for CLABSI prevention. A recent national shortage of ethanol necessitated exploring an alternative lock strategy using sodium bicarbonate. This study sought to assess the impact of ethanol and sodium bicarbonate locks on CLABSI rates in children with IF.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in pediatric patients with IF 0-21 years of age followed by the Intestinal Rehabilitation Program at Seattle Children’s Hospital who received ethanol or sodium bicarbonate locks from 2018 to 2023. Rates of CLABSI, line repair, line replacement and line occlusion were calculated per 1000 catheter days. Variables were compared between the two lock groups using the Mann-Whitney U or Fisher’s exact tests.
Results: Fifty-five patients were identified including 19 children who received ethanol locks and 36 with sodium bicarbonate locks. Rates of CLABSI were similar between the ethanol and sodium bicarbonate lock cohorts (2.03 [3.46], 1.59 [2.83]; p = 0.617(mean [standard deviation]). The sodium bicarbonate group had a lower rate of line replacement (2.21 [1.17-3.84], 0.00 [0.00-1.73]; p = 0.01, median [interquartile range]) and trended toward a lower rate of line repair, (1.94 [0.00-4.15], 1.07 [0.00-1.61]; p = 0.23).
Conclusions: This study demonstrates that sodium bicarbonate locks are a safe and effective alternative to ethanol locks for pediatric patients with IF with equivalent rates of CLABSI and decreased rates of line replacements and repairs.
Reference:
McNevin K, Rosete BE, Fukasawa S, Wang X, Javid PJ, Wendel DR. A comparison between sodium bicarbonate and ethanol for central line locks in pediatric patients with intestinal failure. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2026 Mar 9. doi: 10.1002/jpn3.70393. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41800653.