• Mark E Rupp, R Jennifer Cavalieri, Elizabeth Lyden, Jennifer Kucera, MaryAnn Martin, Teresa Fitzgerald, Kate Tyner, James R Anderson, and Trevor C VanSchooneveld.
• Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198, USA. merupp@unmc.edu
• Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2012 Nov 1; 33 (11): 1094-100.

BackgroundChlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) bathing has been used primarily in critical care to prevent central line-associated bloodstream infections and infections due to multidrug-resistant organisms. The objective was to determine the effect of hospital-wide CHG patient bathing on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).DesignQuasi-experimental, staged, dose-escalation study for 19 months followed by a 4-month washout period, in 3 cohorts.SettingAcademic medical center.PatientsAll patients except neonates and infants.Intervention And MeasurementsCHG bathing in the form of bed basin baths or showers administered 3 days per week or daily. CHG bathing compliance was monitored, and the rate of HAIs was measured.ResultsOver 188,859 patient-days, 68,302 CHG baths were administered. Adherence to CHG bathing in the adult critical care units (90%) was better than that observed in other units (57.7%, [Formula: see text]). A significant decrease in infections due to Clostridium difficile was observed in all cohorts of patients during the intervention period, followed by a significant rise during the washout period. For all cohorts, the relative risk of C. difficile infection compared to baseline was 0.71 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.57-0.89; [Formula: see text]) for 3-days-per-week CHG bathing and 0.41 (95% CI, 0.29-0.59; [Formula: see text]) for daily CHG bathing. During the washout period, the relative risk of infection was 1.85 (95% CI, 1.38-2.53; [Formula: see text]), compared to that with daily CHG bathing. A consistent effect of CHG bathing on other HAIs was not observed. No adverse events related to CHG bathing were reported.ConclusionsCHG bathing was well tolerated and was associated with a significant decrease in C. difficile infections in hospitalized patients.

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