Abstract:
Introduction: Intensive care unit (ICU) treatment carries a large environmental burden. Extending routine replacement of plastic line sets that belong to intravenous administration or invasive monitoring might lower waste from single-use plastics in ICUs. We extended the routine replacement interval of line sets from 4 to 7 days and assessed plastic waste reduction.
Methods: In this single center retrospective study the extension of the time interval from 4 to 7 days for routine replacement of line sets and its effect on plastic waste was assessed. The intervention was done at the start of 2022. Secondary outcomes were catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI), nursing workload, costs and material durability.
Results: In total 1221 patients were admitted to ICU; 636 in the pre-intervention period and 585 in the post-intervention period. There was a reduction of 881 replacement sets, 182 kg of waste and 96 nursing hours in 2022. There was no difference in CRBSI incidence.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates the benefits of 7-day replacement intervals for intravenous administration and invasive monitoring sets. We established this in terms of waste reduction, patient safety and costs.
Reference:Schluep M, Minheere M, Baus M, Machielse S, Donkers A, Vroman H. Reducing plastic waste in intensive care from longer use of intravenous administration and invasive monitoring sets: A before-and-after study. J Crit Care. 2024 Aug 24;84:154900. doi: 10.1016/j.jcrc.2024.154900. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39182456.