The usefulness of the practice of cultivate every intravenous catheter used in one children hospital was assesed looking for a relation between the culture result and the ocurrence of severe infections during the next fifteen days after the catheter removal. Also correlation with the kind of vein, the way of placing and the lenght of the use of the catheter as risk factors os severe infections post catheter removal. The medical and bacteriological features from 188 of a total 208 catheters cultured from 1º january until 31 december 1992, in the Roberto del Río Hospital (Santiago, Chile) were reviewed from the medical and laboratory records. In 122 cultures there was bacterial growing, but only 32 were followed by severe infections and 7 seven of them resulted of diagnostic value. Otherwise, in the 66 episodes with negative catheter culture ocurred a similar frecuency of severe infections post catheter removal as in the positive, in this review appears as lacking of usefulness. Moreover no relation could be found between severe infection post catheter removal and type of vein, way of setting and lenght of the catheters.

In conclusion:

we consider unnecessary the routine culture of all catheters and recomends prospective study with others procedures such as direct gram staining of the catheter and/or simultaenous blood culture through the catheter and from a peripheral vein