# The Home Infusion Collaborative to Eliminate Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI)

> **NIH AHRQ R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $499,857

## Abstract

Patients who need long-term central venous catheters (CVCs) for chemotherapy, total parenteral nutrition (TPN),
outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT), and other indications often maintain CVCs at home, with support
from home nursing and home infusion agencies. The market for home infusion therapy grows 8% a year, and currently
reaches 1.2 million patients yearly. Unlike in hospitals, home infusion therapy patients and their caregivers (i.e., family,
friends, neighbors, or even coworkers) perform day-to-day CVC care and infusion initiation after training by home
infusion or home health nurses. However, complications of home infusion therapy such as central line associated
bloodstream infections (CLABSI) have not been a focus of research or regulation. In fact, we do not currently have a
widely-accepted definition of CLABSI in home infusion therapy. Such a definition is urgently needed to perform
benchmarking and industry-wide quality initiatives. Furthermore, improved understanding how to perform this work in
home infusion therapy is needed. There is no CLABSI benchmark or reporting platform by which home infusion agencies
can compare their CLABSI rates with others. There is no centralized reporting platform. Meanwhile, while CLABSI
prevention toolkits are now standards of care in acute care hospitals, similar CLABSI prevention toolkits have not been
widely implemented in home infusion therapy. Evidence-based adaptations, such as training materials specifically
geared towards patients and informal caregivers, and specific advice on covering CVCs during bathing, have been
developed but not widely implemented. We have previously gathered stakeholders in healthcare epidemiology,
infection prevention, infusion nursing, and home infusion therapy using a modified Delphi approach to develop a pilot
home infusion CLABSI definition. Through a collaborative of five home infusion agencies in different regions of the
country, we will work, to validate and benchmark this new home infusion CLABSI definition, test the impact of feeding
benchmarked home infusion CLABSI data back to agencies on CLABSI rates, and implement a CLABSI prevention
maintenance toolkit in home infusion therapy. We will accomplish this through the following Specific Aims: (1) To
determine the validity of a candidate home infusion CLABSI surveillance definition and barriers to its implementation by
home infusion agencies, (2) To develop a benchmark for CLABSI rates in home infusion therapy patients and design and
implement a dashboard for dissemination of benchmarked rates, and (3) To adapt and implement an existing CLABSI
prevention toolkit for home infusion therapy and measure its impact on CLABSI rates in five home infusion agencies.
The major outcomes of this work will be (1) a validated home infusion CLABSI surveillance definition, (2) a benchmark
for home infusion CLABSI with a dashboard for dissemination of benchmarked rates, and (3) an understanding of the
impact of a C...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10269913
- **Project number:** 5R01HS027819-02
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Sara Condron Keller
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $499,857
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-30 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10269913

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10269913, The Home Infusion Collaborative to Eliminate Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI) (5R01HS027819-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10269913. Licensed CC0.

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