Sonication for diagnosis of catheter-related infection is not better than traditional roll-plate culture: A prospective cohort study with 975 central venous catheters

Abstract

This prospective randomized controlled study with 975 non-tunneled central venous catheters (CVCs) showed that the semiquantitative roll-plate culture technique (SQC) was as accurate as the sonication method for diagnosis of catheter-related infections. Sonication is difficult to standardize, whereas SQC is simpler, faster, and as reliable as the sonication method for culturing CVCs. © The Author 2014.