Chlorhexidine Baths

[ckh23]

Hey everyone. Our facility just implemented chlorhexidine baths in all the ICU's after a trial on one unit. I have read the research and it seems to indicate a decrease in VRE, MRSA, CRBSI, etc. I'm just curious if any others out there are doing the same and seeing any decrease in the rates of infection.

[CrufflerJJ, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

CHG seems to offer the potential to reduce central line infections. There's no free lunch, however. It looks like CHG-resistant strains of S. aureus are becoming more common. See:

Chlorhexidine-Resistant S. aureus Infections on the Rise*:*Family Practice News

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In a review of isolates from pediatric cancer patients, an increasing number of S. aureus became resistant to the antiseptic, Dr. J. Chase McNeil said at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies. The jump from susceptible to resistant occurred around 2006 - 2 years after the Texas Children's Hospital began using chlorhexidine in the weekly central line dressing changes for its cancer patients, and a year after the facility introduced chlorhexidine mouthwash up to four times each day for patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

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..."It's very interesting to see this upward trend [in resistance]," he said in an interview. "Before 2007, we had none, and since then we've seen an increase every year."

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