Intensive care unit patients who were bathed daily with chlorhexidine-based soap experienced fewer incidences of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus acquisition, according to a study published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
After implementing a protocol requiring daily bathing with chlorhexidine-based soap, the rate of MRSA acquisition in the intervention unit fell by 20.68 percent, from 12.64 cases per 1,000 patient-days to 10.03 cases per 1,000 patient-days.
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Additionally, there was a 20.77 percent drop in cases of all S. aureus infections, including MRSA, in the intervention ICU.
There were no significant changes in MRSA acquisition in the control unit.
Researchers suggest bathing with chlorhexidine-based soap every day is a viable way to reduce S. aureus transmission and infection.
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