Central venous catheters, usually called CVCs, are extremely important for patients in any type of intensive care unit. It is because of their crucial role in the care of these patients that the troublesome risk of catheter-related bloodstream infections, sometimes called CR-BSI, has developed into such a problem. There are approximately 80,000 CR-BSIs diagnosed each year in the United States alone. These infections cause the deaths of nearly 28,000 patients in intensive care units. Not only is this a terrible loss of life; it's also incredibly expensive. Additional care and treatment for a patient with a CR-BSI can cost an average of $45,000. In fact, these infections can cost the United States up to $2.3 billion each year (Pronovost et al., 2007). One of the reasons why CR-BSIs are having such a major effect in our intensive care units is that they affect patients of all age groups. It is possible to find patients with CR-BSI at any stage of life, as it occurs already in the neonatal stage. Patients admitted to the intensive care unit are extremely vulnerable to infections due to the weakened state of their immune systems as they deal with their current health problems. Studies have shown that more than half of catheter-related infections could be prevented. As they slowly realize that CR-BSIs have become a major problem in today's healthcare system, healthcare workers are starting to take steps to reduce their risk of contracting such diseases. The Center for Disease Control and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality have provided suggestions on how to prevent CR-BSIs. One strongly recommended option is the use of maximum barrier precautions (Krein et al., 2005). These precautions, also known as maxima...... middle of paper......, 115(6), 1513-1518.Hu, K.K., Veenstra, D.L., Lipsky, B.A., & Saint, S. ( 2004). Use of maximal sterile barriers during central venous catheter insertion: clinical and economic results. ClinicalInfectious Diseases, 39(10), 1441-1445.Krein, SL, Hofer, TP, Kowalski, CP, Olmsted, RN, Kauffman, CA, Forman, JH, …Saint, S. (2005). Use of central venous catheter-related bloodstream infection prevention practices by US hospitals. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 82(6), 672-678.Pronovost, P., Needham, D., Berenholtz, S., Sinopoli, D., Chu, H., Cosgrove, S., … Goeschel, C.(2007 ). An intervention to reduce catheter-related bloodstream infections in intensive care. The New England Journal of Medicine, 356(25), 2725-2732. Stewart, D.B. (February 2008). Eradication of catheter-associated bloodstream infections in the PICU. Intensive care nurse, 28(1), 72-73.