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Hematology patients require central venous catheters for cancer treatment and nutrition, which increases their risk of intravascular device-associated bacteremia. In the absence of recent data, we investigated intravascular device-associated bacteremia in this specific context. A three-month surveillance was conducted annually in 27 hematology wards, using a protocol derived from the HAI-Net ICU ECDC protocol (2020-2024). We analyzed the characteristics of infected patients, the sources and microorganisms of healthcare-associated bacteremias, and intravascular device-associated bacteremias (including catheter type: central venous catheter (CVC), implantable venous access device (IVAD), peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC), midline catheter (MID), and peripheral venous catheter (PVC)), the time between catheter insertion and infection onset, and bacteremia incidence rates per 1,000 patient-days. Over the five-year period, 1,835 patients experienced healthcare-associated bacteremia. No significant changes were observed in patient characteristics over the five-year period. The two primary sources of bacteremias were intravascular devices (n = 682; 37.2%) and the digestive tract (n = 467; 25.4%). The incidence rates of intravascular device-associated bacteremias acquired in the participating wards remained stable. Among the 682 intravascular device-associated bacteremias, 648 (95.0%) involved central venous catheters, primarily PICCs (42.8%), IVADs (25.6%), and CVCs (24.8%). The types of central venous catheters involved shifted over the five years, with a decrease in the proportion of CVCs (from 31.1% in 2020 to 16.8% in 2024) and, conversely, an increase in PICCs (from 35.2% in 2020 to 52.8% in 2024; p = 0.007). Among the microorganisms identified, coagulase-negative Staphylococci (n = 330; 40.6%) and Enterobacterales (21.9%) were the most common. Overall, 59 bacteremias (8.6%) were associated with multidrug-resistant organisms, with no significant trend over the study period. Of the 682 cases, 88.2% were nosocomial, while 11.8% were acquired following care provided in the community or at home. The two groups of bacteremias did not differ regarding microorganisms, and the increasing proportion of PICC-associated bacteremias was noted in both populations. In contrast, the proportion of bacteremias acquired in the community or at home significantly increased over the five-year period, starting in 2022 (6.9% of bacteremias in 2020, 6.5% in 2021, 11.8% in 2022, 16.4% in 2023, and 18.0% in 2024; p = 0.006), at the expense of nosocomial bacteremias. PICC-associated bacteremias were more common in patients with bacteremias acquired in the community or at home (57.7% vs. 40.3% for nosocomial bacteremias; p = 0.021). In addition, while most intravascular device-associated bacteremias involving central venous catheters were late-onset, with the time between catheter insertion and the onset of bacteremia exceeding 7 days in 84.8% of cases, nosocomial bacteremias were less frequently late-onset (82.8%) compared to those acquired outside healthcare institutions (97.3%; p = 0.002). The mechanisms behind the increase in the proportion of PICC-associated bacteremias occurring long after catheter placement and acquired in hematology wards or in the community/at home should be investigated. Given that Staphylococci, common components of the skin flora, are involved in approximately half of PICC-associated bacteremias, our findings raise concerns about adherence to aseptic techniques during line manipulations and catheter dressing changes, both in hematology wards and in community settings. Therefore, to improve the prevention of PICC-associated bacteremias in patients, our data should encourage local infection prevention teams to implement targeted educational programs to reinforce strict aseptic practices during catheter manipulations and dressing changes. As these procedures are increasingly performed outside hospitals, training should be extended beyond healthcare workers in hematology wards to include those providing home care., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: All experiments were performed in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. The study was conducted within the framework of the national agency Santé Publique France and the national program for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections (National Health Strategy 2018–2022), which advocates for regular evaluation of healthcare professionals’ practices by local infection control teams. All work related to this program has been authorized by the CNIL (National Commission on Informatics and Liberties; file 2212596 dated March 27, 2019). Locally, participation in the study required written commitment from the hospital director and the infection control team leader. The commiment charters were collected at the national level by the SPIADI team. In the departments where the study was conducted, the professionals (HCWs) and patients were informed about the study (observational component, microbiological component, and impact study of the proposed training). Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Objectives: The aim was to assess the incidence of sink contamination by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacteriaceae, risk factors for sink contamination and splashing, and their association with clinical infections in the intensive care setting., Methods: A prospective French multicentre study (1 January to 30 May 2020) including in each intensive care unit (ICU) a point-prevalence study of sink contamination, a questionnaire of risk factors for sink contamination (sink use, disinfection procedure) and splashing (visible plashes, distance and barrier between sink and bed), and a 3-month prospective infection survey., Results: Seventy-three ICUs participated in the study. In total, 50.9% (606/1191) of the sinks were contaminated by MDR bacteria: 41.0% (110/268) of the sinks used only for handwashing, 55.3% (510/923) of those used for waste disposal, 23.0% (62/269) of sinks daily bleached, 59.1% (126/213) of those daily exposed to quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) and 62.0% (285/460) of those untreated; 459 sinks (38.5%) showed visible splashes and 30.5% (363/1191) were close to the bed (<2 m) with no barrier around the sink. MDR-associated bloodstream infection incidence rates ≥0.70/1000 patient days were associated with ICUs meeting three or four of these conditions, i.e. a sink contamination rate ≥51%, prevalence of sinks with visible splashes ≥14%, prevalence of sinks close to the patient's bed ≥21% and no daily bleach disinfection (6/30 (20.0%) of the ICUs with none, one or two factors vs. 14/28 (50.0%) of the ICUs with three or four factors; p 0.016)., Discussion: Our data showed frequent and multifactorial infectious risks associated with contaminated sinks in ICUs., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

To increase the knowledge about S. capitis in the neonatal setting, we conducted a nationwide 3-month survey in 38 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) covering 56.6% of French NICU beds. We demonstrated 14.2% of S. capitis BSI (S.capBSI) among nosocomial BSIs. S.capBSI incidence rate was 0.59 per 1000 patient-days. A total of 55.0% of the S.capBSIs were late onset catheter-related BSIs. The S. capitis strains infected preterm babies (median gestational age 26 weeks, median birth weight 855 g). They were resistant to methicillin and aminoglycosides and belonged to the NRCS-A clone. Evolution was favorable in all but one case, following vancomycin treatment.