# Central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI)

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/central-line-associated-bloodstream-infection/  
OnCo record `central-line-associated-bloodstream-infection` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

A CLABSI is a blood infection in someone who has a central line, such as a PICC, port or tunnelled line, counted when the line had been in for more than two days. Careful line care, clean hands and a chlorhexidine skin clean lower the risk.

## Summary

For surveillance, the CDC National Healthcare Safety Network (manual chapter 4, January 2026) defines CLABSI as "a laboratory confirmed bloodstream infection where an eligible BSI organism is identified, and an eligible central line is present on the LCBI DOE or the day before", an eligible central line being one in place for more than two consecutive calendar days after first access in an inpatient location. Its mucosal barrier injury category (MBI-LCBI) is a subset of laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infection with specified organisms in patients who are allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients within the past year with grade III or IV gut graft-versus-host disease or heavy diarrhoea, or who have neutropenia.

The SHEA/IDSA/APIC 2022 update stresses that the surveillance definition differs from the clinical diagnosis of catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI), which depends on laboratory methods, catheter removal and tip culture, and names oncology patients among the vulnerable groups prevention should reach. Its essential practices span insertion, maintenance and surveillance.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-11-11
- Also known as: CLABSI; Central line infection; Line infection; Catheter-related bloodstream infection; CRBSI; MBI-LCBI
- Tags: supportive-care-gaps-2026-11

## Sources

- CDC NHSN Patient Safety Component Manual, chapter 4: Bloodstream Infection Event (CLABSI and non-central line-associated BSI), January 2026: https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/pdfs/pscmanual/4psc_clabscurrent.pdf
- Buetti et al., Strategies to prevent central line-associated bloodstream infections in acute-care hospitals: 2022 update (Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2022): https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC9096710

## Connected records

- technologies: [Catheter lock solutions (heparin, taurolidine and DefenCath)](https://onco.cc/technologies/catheter-lock-solutions/), [Disinfecting caps for needleless connectors (Curos)](https://onco.cc/technologies/needleless-connector-disinfecting-caps/), [Ethanol lock therapy for central venous catheters](https://onco.cc/technologies/ethanol-lock-therapy/), [Implanted ports for chemotherapy (port-a-cath, power-injectable, apheresis and intraperitoneal ports)](https://onco.cc/technologies/implanted-ports/), [Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC lines)](https://onco.cc/technologies/picc-lines/), [Tunnelled cuffed central venous catheters (Hickman-type lines)](https://onco.cc/technologies/tunnelled-cuffed-central-venous-catheters/)
- terms: [Central venous access (port, PICC line)](https://onco.cc/terms/central-venous-access/), [Febrile neutropenia](https://onco.cc/terms/febrile-neutropenia/)

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