A New Approach to Mitigate Biofilm Formation on Totally Implantable Venous Access Ports

care may be associated with increased risk of central line–associated bloodstream in-fections. It is estimated that up to 18 000 such infections occurred in intensive care units and up to 23 000 in inpatient wards of acute care hospitals in the United States in 2009 [1]. These device-associat-ed infections result in significant morbid-ity, mortality, and costs of healthcare delivery in these patient populations. The infections result when microorgan-isms, introduced from the skin of the pa-tient at the catheter insertion site, from a contaminated hub or needleless connec-tor, or from hematogenous seeding, colo