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Chlorhexidine Gluconate Bathing Program to Reduce Health Care-Associated Infections in Both Critically Ill and
Leigh Chapman1, Lisa Hargett2, Theresa Anderson3
1Leigh Chapman is the director of surgical nursing, rehabilitation, and vascular access, University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, Towson, Maryland.
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.
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