Chlorhexidine Bathing Effect on Clostridium Difficile Rates

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2016-06-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

Clostridium difficile (C. diff.) infections, whether nosocomial or community borne, may present with profound diarrhea, especially in those patients receiving antibiotics. Based on a preliminary review of hospital data, the investigators have found that these symptomatic c. diff infections occur with a relatively high incidence at Delnor Hospital. Notwithstanding their high mortality, one recent study attributes a near quadrupling of hospitalization costs to c. diff infections. Chlorhexidine baths have been shown in multiple randomized trials to help reduce the incidence of highly virulent pathogens and hospital acquired infections. Further, several studies show a favorable effect of reducing the incidence of c. diff infections by using Chlorhexidine baths on ICU patients. Far fewer studies, however, have focused on the effects of these baths on general medical/surgical wards. This investigation seeks to study the effect of the daily use of 2% Chlorhexidine gluconate wipes in patients on the general medical/surgical wards who are exposed to antibiotics for a suspected or confirmed infection.

• Phase: Phase 2
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Jared Brooks
• Collaborators: Northwestern Medicine; Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital
• Treatments: Chlorhexidine; Chlorhexidine gluconate

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Prescription of antibiotics for suspected or confirmed infection.

• Admitted to the 2600 General/Medical ward at Delnor Hospital.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Antibiotics only for surgical prophylaxis

• Not mentally capable

• Cannot provide consent in English

• Pregnant

• Documented chlorhexidine allergy

• Patient is a prisoner

• Health system employee