1. Chlorhexidine Gluconate Bathing Program to Reduce Health Care-Associated Infections in Both Critically Ill and Non-Critically Ill Patients.
- Author
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Chapman L, Hargett L, Anderson T, Galluzzo J, and Zimand P
- Subjects
- Baths, Chlorhexidine analogs & derivatives, Critical Illness, Delivery of Health Care, Humans, Intensive Care Units, Anti-Infective Agents, Local, Cross Infection prevention & control
- Abstract
Background: Critical care nurses take care of patients with complicated, comorbid, and compromised conditions. These patients are at risk for health care-associated infections, which affect patients' lives and health care systems in various ways., Objective: To gauge the impact of routinely bathing patients with 4% chlorhexidine gluconate solution on the incidence of health care-associated infections in a medical-surgical intensive care unit and a postoperative telemetry unit; to outline the framework for a hospital-wide presurgical chlorhexidine gluconate bathing program and share the results., Methods: A standard bathing protocol using a 4% chlorhexidine gluconate solution was developed. The protocol included time studies, training, monitoring, and surveillance of health care-associated infections., Results: Consistent patient bathing with 4% chlorhexidine gluconate was associated with a 52% reduction in health care-associated infections in a medical-surgical intensive care unit. The same program in a postoperative telemetry unit yielded a 45% reduction in health care-associated infections., Conclusion: A comprehensive daily 4% chlorhexidine gluconate bathing program can be implemented with standardized protocols and detailed instructions and can significantly reduce the incidence of health care-associated infections in intensive care unit and non-intensive care unit hospital settings., (©2021 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.)
- Published
- 2021
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