A hospital infection control committee reviews one year of CLABSI surveillance data across all ICUs. Which organism group is statistically the single most common cause of central line-associated bloodstream infection?

• A Klebsiella pneumoniae
• B Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• C Enterococcus faecalis
• D Coagulase-negative staphylococci ✓

Explanation

Coagulase-negative staphylococci, chiefly Staphylococcus epidermidis, are the most common cause of CLABSI because they form biofilm on catheter surfaces and are normal skin flora that contaminate the insertion site and hub. Pseudomonas and Klebsiella are important gram-negative causes but rank below staphylococci, and enterococci are less frequent still. Their low virulence means these infections often present only as fever or bacteraemia without septic shock.

Reference: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 21st ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

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