Chlorhexidine Impregnated Cloths to Prevent Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in Marine Officer Candidates
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2007-11-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Outbreaks of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) related to community associated
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have become increasingly common in
military training units. Risk factors for MRSA related SSTI such as crowding, poor hygiene
and shared equipment are often hard to avoid in a military training environment, often
designed to simulate battlefield conditions.
It has recently been demonstrated that military recruits colonized with MRSA may be at
increased risk of developing SSTI. Studies in the hospital environment have shown that
decolonizing inpatients known to carry MRSA decreases the rates of MRSA related infections in
the treated individuals and also in their inpatient unit as a whole.
The investigators propose a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial to:
1. Evaluate the effectiveness, feasibility, and safety of chlorhexidine body cloths,
self-administered three times weekly, in preventing SSTI among recruits in military
training facilities; and
2. Evaluate the effectiveness of chlorhexidine body cloths in decreasing rates of
Staphylococcus aureus colonization among military recruits.
Phase:
N/A
Details
Lead Sponsor:
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences