Cardinal Health, Inc. and Cook Medical, Inc. announced a two-year, exclusive agreement for the North American distribution of Cook Medical central venous catheter (CVC) sets with Cardinal Health Presource(R) customizable procedural kits -- providing clinicians with advanced technology the flexibility of customization for their vascular access needs. Under the agreement, Cardinal Health and Cook Medical customers are now able to customize components of their CVC procedural kits. The kits can include either uncoated or Cook Spectrum(R) CVC sets, which feature the industry's highest flow rates and a comprehensive product line including power-injectable catheters. The partnership enables acute care providers to maximize value and minimize waste by providing a cost-effective means to decrease the number of supplies they need to supplement standard CVC procedural kits. Cook Medical's Spectrum catheters are impregnated with the antibiotics minocycline and rifampin and meet the newly released 1A recommendation from the CDC for reducing catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) if maximal sterile barrier precautions haven't helped a facility reach its [infection prevention] goal.(1) An estimated 78,000 patients are infected with potentially fatal CRBSIs in the U.S. annually, with an average cost estimated at $16,550 per infection.(2) Spectrum catheters have been shown to be five times less likely to produce infection than process alone.