Implementation of 2% Chlorhexidine Bathing to Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections Among Patients in the Intensive Care Unit
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) significantly increase morbidity, mortality, length of hospital stays, and costs, particularly among ICU patients. Despite standard interventions, catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI)...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| author | Hsu-Liang Chang Tzu-Ying Liu Po-Shou Huang Chin-Hwan Chen Chia-Wen Yen Hui-Zhu Chen Shin-Huei Kuo Tun-Chieh Chen Shang-Yi Lin Po-Liang Lu |
| author_facet | Hsu-Liang Chang Tzu-Ying Liu Po-Shou Huang Chin-Hwan Chen Chia-Wen Yen Hui-Zhu Chen Shin-Huei Kuo Tun-Chieh Chen Shang-Yi Lin Po-Liang Lu |
| author_sort | Hsu-Liang Chang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) significantly increase morbidity, mortality, length of hospital stays, and costs, particularly among ICU patients. Despite standard interventions, catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) remain major HAI contributors. This study evaluated the efficacy of daily 2% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) bathing in reducing HAI incidence, specifically CAUTI, CLABSI, and multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), in a 20-bed ICU at a regional hospital. Using a prospective, uncontrolled before-and-after design, we compared traditional soap-water bathing (pre-intervention period) with CHG bathing over a one-year intervention and one-year post-intervention follow-up. The total number of patients and patient days admitted to the ICU per year were around 1330–1412 patients and 6702–6927 patient days, respectively, during 2018–2020. Results showed a significant reduction in HAI incidence rates from 3.43‰ to 0.58‰ (<i>p</i> < 0.05) during the intervention and sustained benefits post-intervention. Incidences of CAUTI and CLABSI decreased markedly (<i>p</i> < 0.05), with reduced MDRO isolates, including methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>, vancomycin-resistant <i>Enterococci</i>, carbapenem-resistant <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i>, and <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>. Our findings support the implementation of daily CHG bathing as an effective strategy to reduce HAI and MDROs in ICU settings. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a6db364cf84143868c87dda17541915e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj-art-a6db364cf84143868c87dda17541915e2025-01-24T13:42:29ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-01-011316510.3390/microorganisms13010065Implementation of 2% Chlorhexidine Bathing to Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections Among Patients in the Intensive Care UnitHsu-Liang Chang0Tzu-Ying Liu1Po-Shou Huang2Chin-Hwan Chen3Chia-Wen Yen4Hui-Zhu Chen5Shin-Huei Kuo6Tun-Chieh Chen7Shang-Yi Lin8Po-Liang Lu9Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 801, TaiwanInfection Control Office, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 801, TaiwanDepartment of Nursing, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 801, TaiwanDepartment of Nursing, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 801, TaiwanDepartment of Nursing, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 801, TaiwanDepartment of Nursing, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 801, TaiwanDepartment of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 801, TaiwanDepartment of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 801, TaiwanDepartment of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 801, TaiwanDepartment of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, TaiwanHealthcare-associated infections (HAIs) significantly increase morbidity, mortality, length of hospital stays, and costs, particularly among ICU patients. Despite standard interventions, catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) remain major HAI contributors. This study evaluated the efficacy of daily 2% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) bathing in reducing HAI incidence, specifically CAUTI, CLABSI, and multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), in a 20-bed ICU at a regional hospital. Using a prospective, uncontrolled before-and-after design, we compared traditional soap-water bathing (pre-intervention period) with CHG bathing over a one-year intervention and one-year post-intervention follow-up. The total number of patients and patient days admitted to the ICU per year were around 1330–1412 patients and 6702–6927 patient days, respectively, during 2018–2020. Results showed a significant reduction in HAI incidence rates from 3.43‰ to 0.58‰ (<i>p</i> < 0.05) during the intervention and sustained benefits post-intervention. Incidences of CAUTI and CLABSI decreased markedly (<i>p</i> < 0.05), with reduced MDRO isolates, including methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>, vancomycin-resistant <i>Enterococci</i>, carbapenem-resistant <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i>, and <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>. Our findings support the implementation of daily CHG bathing as an effective strategy to reduce HAI and MDROs in ICU settings.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/1/65healthcare-associated infectionscatheter-associated urinary tract infectionscatheter-associated bloodstream infectionschlorhexidine gluconatemultidrug-resistant organisms |
| spellingShingle | Hsu-Liang Chang Tzu-Ying Liu Po-Shou Huang Chin-Hwan Chen Chia-Wen Yen Hui-Zhu Chen Shin-Huei Kuo Tun-Chieh Chen Shang-Yi Lin Po-Liang Lu Implementation of 2% Chlorhexidine Bathing to Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections Among Patients in the Intensive Care Unit Microorganisms healthcare-associated infections catheter-associated urinary tract infections catheter-associated bloodstream infections chlorhexidine gluconate multidrug-resistant organisms |
| title | Implementation of 2% Chlorhexidine Bathing to Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections Among Patients in the Intensive Care Unit |
| title_full | Implementation of 2% Chlorhexidine Bathing to Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections Among Patients in the Intensive Care Unit |
| title_fullStr | Implementation of 2% Chlorhexidine Bathing to Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections Among Patients in the Intensive Care Unit |
| title_full_unstemmed | Implementation of 2% Chlorhexidine Bathing to Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections Among Patients in the Intensive Care Unit |
| title_short | Implementation of 2% Chlorhexidine Bathing to Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections Among Patients in the Intensive Care Unit |
| title_sort | implementation of 2 chlorhexidine bathing to reduce healthcare associated infections among patients in the intensive care unit |
| topic | healthcare-associated infections catheter-associated urinary tract infections catheter-associated bloodstream infections chlorhexidine gluconate multidrug-resistant organisms |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/1/65 |
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