To develop a modified surveillance definition of central line-associated bloodstream infection (mCLABSI) specific for our population of patients with hematologic malignancies to better support ongoing improvement efforts at our hospital.

Retrospective cohort study.

Hematologic malignancies population in a 1,200-bed tertiary care hospital on a 22-bed bone marrow transplant (BMT) unit and a 22-bed leukemia unit.

An mCLABSI definition was developed, and pathogens and rates were compared against those determined using the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) definition.

By the NHSN definition the CLABSI rate on the BMT unit was 6.0 per 1,000 central line-days, and by the mCLABSI definition the rate was 2.0 per 1,000 line-days (P < .001). On the leukemia unit, the NHSN CLABSI rate was 14.4 per 1,000 line-days, and the mCLABSI rate was 8.2 per 1,000 line-days (P = .009). The top 3 CLABSI pathogens by the NHSN definition were Enterococcus species, Klebsiella species, and Escherichia coli. The top 3 CLABSI pathogens by the mCLABSI definition were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CONS), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. The difference in the incidence of CONS as a cause of CLABSI under the 2 definitions was statistically significant (P < .001).

A modified surveillance definition of CLABSI was associated with an increase in the identification of staphylococci as the cause of CLABSIs, as opposed to enteric pathogens, and a decrease in CLABSI rates.