CDC Funds Dialysis Bloodstream Infection Research Led By American Society of Nephrology

The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) has announced that its Nephrologists Transforming Dialysis Safety (NTDS) initiative has received a contract from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to study barriers to implementation of recommended practices intended to help reduce dialysis-related infections.

NTDS will partner with researchers from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University to focus on the following four areas of patient safety:

1. central venous catheter access and care; 
2. dialysis station disinfection; 
3. hand hygiene; and 
4. injection safety.

Human factors researchers will observe six diverse dialysis facilities beginning this summer, targeting a conclusion in July 2019.

The CDC contract will fund work that expands NTDS's current infection prevention efforts. In 2016, CDC awarded ASN a three-year contract to spearhead the NTDS project, which was launched to help prevention infection in dialysis facilities.