Objective  

To determine the efficacy of minocycline and rifampin-impregnated catheters compared to non-impregnated catheters in critically ill patients.

Design  

Prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled, multicenter trial.

Setting  

Intensive care units of seven acute-care teaching hospitals in Spain.

Patients  

Intensive care unit patients requiring triple-lumen central venous catheter for more than 3 days.

Interventions  

At catheter insertion, 228 patients were randomized to minocycline and rifampin-impregnated catheters and 237 to non-impregnated catheters. Skin, catheter tip, subcutaneous segment, hub cultures, peripheral blood and infusate cultures were performed at catheter withdrawal. The rate of colonization, catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) and catheter-related clinical infectious complications (purulence at the insertion site or CRBSI) were assessed.

Measurements and main results  

In the intention-to-treat analysis (primary analysis), the episodes per 1000 catheter days of clinical infectious complications decreased from 8.6 to 5.7 (RR =0.67, 95% CI 0.31–1.44), CRBSI from 5.9 to 3.1 (RR =0.53, 95% CI 0.2–1.44) and tip colonization from 24 to 10.4 (RR =0.43, 95% CI 0.26–0.73). Antimicrobial-impregnated catheters were associated with a significant decrease of coagulase-negative staphylococci colonization (RR =0.24, 95% CI 0.13–0.45) and a significant increase of Candida spp. colonization (RR =5.84, 95% CI 1.31–26.1).

Conclusions  

The use of antimicrobial-impregnated catheters was associated with a significantly lower rate of coagulase-negative staphylococci colonization and a significant increase in Candida spp. colonization, although a decrease in CRBSI, increase in 30-day survival or reduced length of stay was not observed.