The introduction of daily bathing with disposable, germ-killing cloths resulted in a sustained, significant decrease in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus incidence at a Canadian geriatric facility, according to a study.
Infection preventionists, working in the acute care transition unit at Baycrest, a geriatric healthcare system in Ontario, reduced the rate of MRSA transmission by 82% over a 33-month period.They instituted daily bathing of patients with disposable cloths containing chlorhexidine gluconate, an antimicrobial that reduces organisms on a patient’s skin and leaves a residue of the antimicrobial that lasts for up to six hours.
The use of the wipes began as a pilot study in the 27-bed unit, which is dedicated to patients with complex sub-acute and chronic conditions that require urgent medical care. Before the study, the hospital had a transmission rate of 4.99 cases per 1,000 patient days. After the intervention was introduced and became a standard of care, that rate was reduced to 0.88 cases per 1,000 patient days — an 82% decrease. It was an isolated intervention, with no other changes in practice on the unit.
The 1,000-bed facility screens every patient on admission to determine whether they are colonized with MRSA. Heather Candon, MSc, CIC, infection prevention and control practitioner at Baycrest and the study’s lead author, said the impetus for the bathing intervention came after determining that 21% of the facility’s MRSA transmission was occurring in the acute care transition unit.
"Because patients who are colonized with MRSA have a much greater chance of developing a MRSA infection, we knew we needed to intervene to stop transmission and prevent infection," Candon said in a news release. "Use of the CHG cloths proved to be a very effective way to achieve and sustain this reduction."
Candon said previous reports had shown that bathing with CHG cloths reduced the risk of infections in patients undergoing surgery, but, to the researchers’ knowledge, the technique had not yet been studied for reduction of MRSA transmission in a geriatric setting.
The study was presented June 5 in San Antonio at the 39th annual conference of the of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
"The research presented by the Baycrest team represents a potentially promising intervention to reduce MRSA transmission and improve patient safety as part of an overall bundle of infection prevention strategies as identified by a facility’s infection risk assessment," said APIC 2012 President Michelle Farber, RN, CIC.
Infection preventionists, working in the acute care transition unit at Baycrest, a geriatric healthcare system in Ontario, reduced the rate of MRSA transmission by 82% over a 33-month period.They instituted daily bathing of patients with disposable cloths containing chlorhexidine gluconate, an antimicrobial that reduces organisms on a patient’s skin and leaves a residue of the antimicrobial that lasts for up to six hours.
The use of the wipes began as a pilot study in the 27-bed unit, which is dedicated to patients with complex sub-acute and chronic conditions that require urgent medical care. Before the study, the hospital had a transmission rate of 4.99 cases per 1,000 patient days. After the intervention was introduced and became a standard of care, that rate was reduced to 0.88 cases per 1,000 patient days — an 82% decrease. It was an isolated intervention, with no other changes in practice on the unit.
The 1,000-bed facility screens every patient on admission to determine whether they are colonized with MRSA. Heather Candon, MSc, CIC, infection prevention and control practitioner at Baycrest and the study’s lead author, said the impetus for the bathing intervention came after determining that 21% of the facility’s MRSA transmission was occurring in the acute care transition unit.
"Because patients who are colonized with MRSA have a much greater chance of developing a MRSA infection, we knew we needed to intervene to stop transmission and prevent infection," Candon said in a news release. "Use of the CHG cloths proved to be a very effective way to achieve and sustain this reduction."
Candon said previous reports had shown that bathing with CHG cloths reduced the risk of infections in patients undergoing surgery, but, to the researchers’ knowledge, the technique had not yet been studied for reduction of MRSA transmission in a geriatric setting.
The study was presented June 5 in San Antonio at the 39th annual conference of the of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
"The research presented by the Baycrest team represents a potentially promising intervention to reduce MRSA transmission and improve patient safety as part of an overall bundle of infection prevention strategies as identified by a facility’s infection risk assessment," said APIC 2012 President Michelle Farber, RN, CIC.
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