Abstract:
Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) cause morbidity and mortality in patients at medical intensive care units (MICUs). However, current literature reports inconsistent findings on the effect of daily bathing with 2% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) on reducing HAIs and that the solution can cause skin harm. This study aimed to explore the effect of bathing with 2% CHG every 2 days on HAIs in the MICU.
Methods: This study used a quasi-experimental design (experimental group) and a medical record review (control group). Patients in the control group were admitted to the MICU at a medical centre in Taiwan from March 2018 to February 2019 and used general soap for bathing every other day as part of the unit’s routine. The experimental group was recruited from March 2019 to February 2020 and used 2% CHG wet wipes for bathing every other day. The study outcome was to compare the effects on HAIs, catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) between these two groups.
Results: A total of 731 patients in the MICU participated in the study over 12 months. HAIs were significantly different between the experimental (5.9‰) and control (8.9‰) groups, and CAUTIs were also considerably different between the experimental (1.1‰) and control (5.2‰) groups. In contrast, CLABSIs and VAP did not show differences between these two groups.
Conclusions: Bathing with 2% CHG every 2 days for 12 months was associated with reduced HAIs and CAUTIs in the MICU. However, strict aseptic procedures still should be followed during routine care.
Reference:Hsu SF, Yu PJ, Yang HY, Wu TY. Effect of bathing with 2% chlorhexidine gluconate every other day on healthcare-associated infections in the medical intensive care unit. Infect Prev Pract. 2026 Feb 13;8(2):100521. doi: 10.1016/j.infpip.2026.100521. PMID: 41883626; PMCID: PMC13010095.