Newer infection prevention techniques , such as preoperative antiseptic scrubbing , are affected and may help reduce the infection rate , while traditionally accepted methods of prophylaxis such as laminar-flow operating rooms and body exhaust suits may raise the infection rate
Despite advances in our underst and ing of surgical site infections following total joint arthroplasty , this serious surgical complication continues to represent a substantial economic burden for the patient , the treating institution and the healthcare system .
After increasing for the past decade , infection rates have stabilized at 1.6 % ; however , the total cost is projected to increase with the total number of revision procedures performed .
Effectiveness of chlorhexidine bathing to reduce catheter-associated bloodstream infections in medical intensive care unit patients.
OBJECTIVE To determine whether patients bathed daily with chlorhexidine gluconate ( CHG ) have a lower incidence of  primary bloodstream infections ( BSIs )  compared with patients bathed with soap and water . METHODS The study design was a 52-week , 2-arm , crossover ( ie , concurrent control group ) clinical trial with intention-to-treat analysis . The study setting was the 22-bed medical intensive care unit ( MICU ) , which comprises 2 geographically separate , similar 11-bed units , of the John H. Stroger Jr ( Cook County ) Hospital , a 464-bed public teaching hospital in Chicago , Illinois . The study population comprised 836 MICU patients . During the first of 2 study periods ( 28 weeks ) , 1 hospital unit was r and omly selected to serve as the intervention unit in which patients were bathed daily with 2 % CHG-impregnated washcloths ( Sage 2 % CHG cloths ; Sage Products Inc , Cary , Illinois ) ; patients in the concurrent control unit were bathed daily with soap and water . After a 2-week wash-out period at the end of the first period , cleansing methods were crossed over for 24 more weeks . Main outcome measures included incidences of primary BSIs and clinical ( culture-negative ) sepsis ( primary outcomes ) and incidences of other infections ( secondary outcomes ) . RESULTS Patients in the CHG intervention arm were significantly less likely to acquire a primary BSI ( 4.1 vs 10.4 infections per 1000 patient days ; incidence difference , 6.3 [ 95 % confidence interval , 1.2 - 11.0 ) . The incidences of other infections , including clinical sepsis , were similar between the units . Protection against primary BSI by CHG cleansing was apparent after 5 or more days in the MICU . CONCLUSION Daily cleansing of MICU patients with CHG-impregnated cloths is a simple , effective strategy to decrease the rate of primary BSIs
Newer infection prevention techniques , such as preoperative antiseptic scrubbing , are affected and may help reduce the infection rate , while traditionally accepted methods of prophylaxis such as laminar-flow operating rooms and body exhaust suits may raise the infection rate
Despite advances in our underst and ing of surgical site infections following total joint arthroplasty , this serious surgical complication continues to represent a substantial economic burden for the patient , the treating institution and the healthcare system .
After increasing for the past decade , infection rates have stabilized at 1.6 % ; however , the total cost is projected to increase with the total number of revision procedures performed .