Reusing ECG Leads Does Not Promote Infections

Reusing cleaned electrocardiography (ECG) lead wires does not increase toxicities in intensive care units (ICUs), according to a new study.

Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic (OH, USA) randomly assigned ICUs to use either reusable or disposable ECG lead wires to determine infection risk; the reusable wires were sterilized using ultrasound. In all, 7,240 patients were treated, 4,056 of them with disposable wires and 3,184 with reusable wires. Of the study cohort, 3,260 patients came from two cardiovascular units, 1,484 came from two medical units, 956 came from two neurologic units, and 1,540 came from three general surgery units. Demographics, insurance type, intensive care, and length of hospital stays were similar in the two groups.

The results showed that the rate of infection was slightly higher when disposable wires were used than when reusable wires were used, but the difference was not statistically different. This finding was true for each type of ICU and for each type of infection. There was a statistically significant difference between groups in infection rate among patients discharged home, but when adjusted for comorbidities and disposition of the patients, the difference was irrelevant. The study was presented at the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) 43rd Critical Care Congress, held during January 2014 in San Francisco (CA, USA).

"ECG lead wire collects bacteria, but it's no different from other objects in the ICU,” said lead author and study presenter Nancy Albert, PhD, a clinical nurse specialist at the Cleveland Clinic. “Infections in ICUs are much more likely to result from pathogens spread by hand than by an ECG wire.”

Reusable wires provide a cost savings after five or six uses, since they cost about USD 75 each, whereas disposable ones cost USD 10–17 each.

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