Management Of Fever And Suspected Infection In Pediatric Patients With Central Venous Catheters

The use of indwelling central venous catheters is essential for pediatric patients who require hemodialysis, parenteral nutrition, chemotherapy, or other medications. Fever is a common chief complaint in the emergency department, and fever in a patient with a central venous catheter may be related to a common cause of fever, or it may be due to a catheter-associated bloodstream infection. Catheter-associated bloodstream infections may also lead to additional complications such as sepsis, septic shock, or septic complications including suppurative thrombophlebitis, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, septic emboli, and abscesses. Early resuscitation as well as timely and appropriate antibiotic therapy have been shown to improve outcomes. This issue focuses on the approach to fever in pediatric patients with central venous catheters and the management and disposition of patients with possible catheter-associated bloodstream infections.