WAYNE, PA — Teleflex Incorporated (NYSE: TFX) reported that its antiseptic-coated central venous catheters were associated with a 70% lower hazard of bloodstream infections among critically ill patients, according to a multinational clinical study published in the American Journal of Infection Control, adding evidence for hospitals evaluating infection prevention technologies.
The prospective study followed 1,750 patients across six hospitals in four countries, comparing central venous catheters equipped with Teleflex’s Arrowg+ard technology against conventional, non-impregnated catheters over a 30-day period.
Researchers found that patients receiving Arrowg+ard-protected catheters had a significantly lower hazard of central line-associated bloodstream infection, or CLABSI, with a hazard ratio of 0.297 and a 95% confidence interval of 0.134 to 0.658.
The association was statistically significant, with a p-value of 0.003.
Central line-associated bloodstream infections are a serious complication of hospital care, particularly among critically ill patients who require vascular access for medications, fluids and other treatments.
These infections can increase patient morbidity, extend hospital stays and raise healthcare costs, making prevention a priority for hospitals and intensive care units.
The study also found that patients receiving catheters treated with chlorhexidine and silver sulfadiazine, the antiseptic agents used in Arrowg+ard technology, experienced no bloodstream infections during the first five days of catheterization.
By comparison, researchers recorded 13 infections during that period among patients receiving conventional catheters. The difference was statistically significant, with a p-value of 0.026.
Infection-risk curves also differed significantly over the 30-day observation period, indicating that the association between antiseptic catheter use and lower infection hazard persisted over time.
Mortality was lower among patients receiving antiseptic-treated catheters, at 18.4%, compared with 28.3% in the conventional catheter group.
The mortality difference was statistically significant, although the observational study does not establish that the catheter technology caused the difference in survival.
Patients in the antiseptic catheter group also had longer average catheter dwell times, at 11.56 days compared with 7.43 days for patients receiving conventional devices.
The lower infection hazard was observed despite the longer duration of catheter use, a factor relevant to infection prevention in patients requiring extended vascular access.
The findings build on a separate analysis published in 2025 from the multinational prospective cohort, which reported a 70.5% reduction in overall bloodstream infection incidence among patients receiving Arrowg+ard Blue or Arrowg+ard Blue Plus catheters.
While the earlier analysis examined overall infection incidence, the latest publication evaluated the timing of infections during catheterization.
The distinction provides additional information about how infection risk develops over the course of treatment rather than solely comparing the total number of infections between patient groups.
Dr. Amy Bardin, vice president of clinical and medical affairs at Teleflex, said the findings add evidence for clinicians assessing strategies to prevent hospital-acquired infections.
“Clinicians rely on high-quality clinical evidence to inform infection prevention strategies,” Bardin said.
International infection prevention guidelines recommend considering antimicrobial or antiseptic-impregnated central venous catheters in patients or healthcare settings where bloodstream infection rates remain elevated despite established prevention measures.
The findings support consideration of the technology in those circumstances, while the study’s observational design means the reported associations should not be interpreted as definitive evidence of causation.
The research was published under the title Prospective Multicenter Multinational Cohort Study: Time-to-Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection with Plain vs Chlorhexidine/Silver Sulfadiazine Impregnated Central Venous Catheters.
The full study is available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196655326005869.
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