Universal decolonization of adult intensive care unit patients in a large community health system significantly reduced the incidence of central line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), according to Dr. Edward Septimus and his associates.
A total of 136 ICUs at 95 hospitals were included in the study. Universal decolonization was completed within 6 months. A total of 672 CLABSIs occurred in the 24 months before intervention, and 181 CLABSIs occurred in the 8 months after intervention. The CLABSI rate was 1.1/1,000 central-line days before intervention and 0.87 after intervention, a reduction of 23.5%.
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No evidence of a trend over time was found in either the pre- or postintervention period. The reduction in CLABSIs post intervention was not affected after adjustment for seasonality, number of beds in the ICU, or unit type. The gram-positive CLABSI rate was reduced by 28.7% after invention, and the rate of CLABSI due to Staphylococcus aureus was reduced by 31.9%.
“This rapid dissemination and implementation program demonstrated the utility of a protocol-specific toolkit, coupled with a multistep translation program to implement universal decolonization in a large, complex organization. Doing so demonstrated that use of CHG [chlorhexidine] bathing plus nasal mupirocin in routine practice reduced ICU CLABSIs at a level commensurate with that achieved within the framework of a clinical trial. This supports the use of universal decolonization in a wide variety of acute care facilities across the United States,” the investigators wrote.
Find the full study in Clinical Infectious Diseases (doi: 10.1093/cid/ciw282).