Several studies demonstrating that central line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) are preventable prompted a national initiative to reduce the incidence of these infections.

We conducted a collaborative cohort study to evaluate the impact of the national “On the CUSP: Stop BSI” program on CLABSI rates among participating adult intensive care units (ICUs). The program goal was to achieve a unit-level mean CLABSI rate of less than 1 case per 1,000 catheter-days using standardized definitions from the National Healthcare Safety Network. Multilevel Poisson regression modeling compared infection rates before, during, and up to 18 months after the intervention was implemented.

A total of 1,071 ICUs from 44 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, reporting 27,153 ICU-months and 4,454,324 catheter-days of data, were included in the analysis. The overall mean CLABSI rate significantly decreased from 1.96 cases per 1,000 catheter-days at baseline to 1.15 at 16–18 months after implementation. CLABSI rates decreased during all observation periods compared with baseline, with adjusted incidence rate ratios steadily decreasing to 0.57 (95% confidence intervals, 0.50–0.65) at 16–18 months after implementation.

Coincident with the implementation of the national “On the CUSP: Stop BSI” program was a significant and sustained decrease in CLABSIs among a large and diverse cohort of ICUs, demonstrating an overall 43% decrease and suggesting the majority of ICUs in the United States can achieve additional reductions in CLABSI rates.

To evaluate the impact of a multifaceted intervention on compliance with evidence-based therapies and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) rates.

Collaborative cohort before-after study.

Intensive care units (ICUs) predominantly in Michigan.

We implemented a multifaceted intervention to improve compliance with 5 evidence-based recommendations for mechanically ventilated patients and to prevent VAP. A standardized CDC definition of VAP was used and maintained at each site, and data on the number of VAPs and ventilator-days were obtained from the hospital's infection preventionists. Baseline data were reported and postimplementation data were reported for 30 months. VAP rates (in cases per 1,000 ventilator-days) were calculated as the proportion of ventilator-days per quarter in which patients received all 5 therapies in the ventilator care bundle. Two interventions to improve safety culture and communication were implemented first.

One hundred twelve ICUs reporting 3,228 ICU-months and 550,800 ventilator-days were included. The overall median VAP rate decreased from 5.5 cases (mean, 6.9 cases) per 1,000 ventilator-days at baseline to 0 cases (mean, 3.4 cases) at 16–18 months after implementation (P < .001) and 0 cases (mean, 2.4 cases) at 28-30 months after implementation (P < .001). Compared to baseline, VAP rates decreased during all observation periods, with incidence rate ratios of 0.51 (95% confidence interval, 0.41–0.64) at 16–18 months after implementation and 0.29 (95% confidence interval, 0.24–0.34) at 28–30 months after implementation. Compliance with evidence-based therapies increased from 32% at baseline to 75% at 16–18 months after implementation (P < .001) and 84% at 28–30 months after implementation (P < .001).

A multifaceted intervention was associated with an increased use of evidence-based therapies and a substantial (up to 71%) and sustained (up to 2.5 years) decrease in VAP rates.