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Chlorhexidine: Patient Bathing and Infection Prevention

  • Healthcare Associated Infections (G Bearman and D Morgan, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the USA. They are associated with a substantial increase in health care costs each year. Fortunately, many HAIs are preventable, and their eradication is a national priority. Chlorhexidine (CHG) bathing has been used as an infection prevention measure, either alone or bundled with other interventions, with mostly beneficial results. The recent surge in its use as an agent of choice for skin antisepsis has lead to concerns over emerging resistance among microorganisms. Moreover, compliance with CHG-bathing protocols is not routinely monitored. Policies developed to determine the best infection prevention practice must consider that a “one-size-fits-all” strategy may lead to the selection of CHG-tolerant microorganisms, thereby emphasizing the need for more robust guidelines and additional studies on the role of chlorhexidine bathing for the prevention of HAIs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Infectious Diseases, Virginia Commonwealth University, VMI Building, Suite 205, P.O Box 980049, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA

    Salma Abbas & Sangeeta Sastry

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  1. Salma Abbas
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  2. Sangeeta Sastry
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Correspondence to Salma Abbas.

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Salma Abbas and Sangeeta Sastry have no conflicts of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Healthcare Associated Infections

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Abbas, S., Sastry, S. Chlorhexidine: Patient Bathing and Infection Prevention. Curr Infect Dis Rep 18, 25 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11908-016-0532-y

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