Fig. 1

Flow chart of study. BCx: blood culture; CRI3-CVC: microbiologically confirmed central venous catheter-related bloodstream infection; CVC-BSI: central venous catheter-related bloodstream infection; ECDC: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control; HA: healthcare-associated. Positive BCx: BCx with any growth of microorganisms (pathogens and/or contaminants). CVC-BSI-episode: all BCx taken during admission were regarded as potential CVC-BSI-episodes, and each admission without BCx taken counted as one potential CVC-BSI-episode