Abstract: Objective: To systematically evaluate the risk factors of Vessel Catheter-Associated Infection (VCAI) in critical patients. Methods: The studies on risk factors of VCAI in critical patients were searched and enrolled from databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, CNKI, WanFang data, VIP and CBM to do Meta-analysis using Stata 12.0. Results: A total of 20 studies with a total sample size of 17539 were recruited of which the incidence of VCAI ranged from 0.72% to 33.33%. Meta-analysis showed that older age, high APACHE II score, diabetes mellitus, basic diseases, decreased immune function, lower serum albumin level, medical staff?'s lacking experience in cannulation, repeated venipuncture, femoral vein catheterization, lumen number >1, longer stay in ICU, heavy use of antibiotics, intravenous infusion of nutrient solution, longer indwelling time were risk factors for VCAI in critical patients. Conclusion: Based on the above evidence, it is recommended to have an overall assessment of the patients before catheterization such as severity of disease, complications, immune function and so on, standardize the catheterization process, rationally select the catheterization site and lumen number, pay attention to catheter maintenance after catheterization, and minimize the indwelling time to reduce the occurrence of VCAI in critical patients.

Key words: critical patients; Vessel Catheter-Associated Infection; risk factor; Meta-analysis