Bathing daily with with chlorhexidine gluconate can reduce incidence of some hospital-acquired infections, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control.
Researchers conducted the study in four inpatient units in a Canadian hospital from May 1, 2014, to August 10, 2015. The units were divided into intervention and control groups. Patients in the intervention units were told to bathe everyday with CGH over a seven-month period, while those in the control unit were asked to bathe with non-medicated soap and water.
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Here are four insights:
1. Fifty-eight percent of patients in the intervention units complied with the daily CGH bathing instructions.
2. Hospital-associated MRSA decreased by 55 percent for the intervention cohort as compared to the control cohort.
3. Hospital-associated VRE decreased by 36 percent for intervention units compared with the control group.
4. There was no significant difference in rates of hospital-associated Clostridium difficile.