CHG cloths more effective in reducing risk of HAIs
Decrease MRSA and VRE infection risk, US hospital study finds
A new study by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital in the US has found a reduced risk of hospital-acquired infections (HAI) when using 2% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) cloths for daily bathing instead of soap and water.
The study found a 64% decrease in infection risk from either methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE).
The antiseptic CHG has been shown to reduce HAIs in patients in intensive care units but it had not previously been studied in other patient groups. Senior investigator Leonard Mermel, medical director of the department of epidemiology and infection control at Rhode Island Hospital, and his colleagues conducted a study on general medical hospital units to determine if daily bathing of patients using CHG cloths would be effective in reducing the risk of certain HAIs, compared with using soap and water.
In the study, a group of 7,699 adult patients admitted to general medicine units were bathed daily with CHG cloths by certified nursing assistants for the duration of their stay in hospital. A control group of 7,102 patients were bathed with soap and water. The 2% CHG cloths were kept in dedicated warmers and used according to the manufacturer’s guidelines.
Mermel, who is also a professor of medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, said: “The results of our study indicate a significant reduction in the risk of developing an HAI due to MRSA or VRE. We believe that this study demonstrates that daily CHG bathing may be a beneficial infection control intervention for patients outside of the ICU setting.”
Steven Kassakian, who worked with Mermel and colleagues on the study said: “Obviously our results require further investigation but I think this study represents a fundamental step forward in patient safety and it certainly feels good to be involved in that.”
Mermel added: “Our results require confirmation before CHG bathing in non-ICU patients becomes a standard of care. Nonetheless, our findings have certain strengths, including our large sample size.”
The study is published in the journal, Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
