The efficacy of chlorhexidine bathing to prevent multidrug-resistant infection in the Intensive care Unit: a literature review
Mutik Sri Pitajeng
Joint Degree Program for Master of Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia and University of Tasmania, Australia
Abstract
Lack of antibiotic prescription could cause the bacteria mutated into organisms that led to multidrug-resistant infection. Preventing this infection at patient in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) should be a priority for health care provider because the treatment is difficult and costly. Chlorhexidine that has been widely known as antiseptic in health care setting shows promising protector effect from infection. This review will identify the efficacy of daily bathing with chlorhexidine to prevent multidrug-resistant infection in the ICU. Five online databases were searched for the articles that meet with the criteria. Seventeen articles were included in this review. Daily bathing with chlorhexidine had a different effect for preventing infections caused by the multidrug-resistant organisms including methicillin-resistant straphylococcus aureus (MRSA), voncomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE), fluoroquinolone-resistant gram-negative bacilli (FQRGNB), carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), and highly resistant Enterobacteriaceae (HRE). To enhance the protector effect in ICU, chlorhexidine bathing must be combined with the other approaches such as antimicrobial prescription and hand hygiene program. The future research related to bacteria resistant to chlorhexidine is needed to monitor whether this approach will effective following trend of infection disease in ICU.
Keywords: chlorhexidine bathing, multidrug-resistant organism, infection, ICU
Topic: International Conference on Nursing