TY - JOUR
T1 - Chlorhexidine
T2 - Expanding the armamentarium for infection control and prevention
AU - Milstone, Aaron M.
AU - Passaretti, Catherine L.
AU - Perl, Trish M.
N1 - Funding Information:
Financial support. Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society Fellowship Award funded by an educational grant from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals (A.M.M.) and the CDC (UR8/CCU315092 to T.M.P.).
Funding Information:
Potential conflicts of interest. A.M.M. has received grant support from Sage Products. T.M.P. has received grant support from Sage Products and 3M, serves on advisory panels for TheraDoc and Replidyne, and has given talks sponsored by Ortho-McNeil. C.L.P.: no conflicts.
PY - 2008/1/15
Y1 - 2008/1/15
N2 - Health care-associated infections (HAIs) result in increased patient morbidity and utilization of health care resources. Rates of HAI are increasing despite advances in health care technology. Limited antimicrobial agents and a dry drug pipeline make novel prevention efforts critical. Chlorhexidine, an antiseptic solution that has been used worldwide since the 1950s, is a safe and effective product with broad antiseptic activity. Novel uses of chlorhexidine-containing products are being implemented to promote antisepsis and prevent bacterial colonization and infection. We review some of the many infection control applications of chlorhexidine in the battle against HAI, such as general skin cleansing, skin decolonization, preoperative showering and bathing, vascular catheter site preparation, impregnated catheter site dressings, impregnated catheters, and oral decontamination. As mandatory public reporting and pay for performance force infection control issues to the forefront, chlorhexidine-containing products may provide a vast armamentarium for the control and prevention of HAI.
AB - Health care-associated infections (HAIs) result in increased patient morbidity and utilization of health care resources. Rates of HAI are increasing despite advances in health care technology. Limited antimicrobial agents and a dry drug pipeline make novel prevention efforts critical. Chlorhexidine, an antiseptic solution that has been used worldwide since the 1950s, is a safe and effective product with broad antiseptic activity. Novel uses of chlorhexidine-containing products are being implemented to promote antisepsis and prevent bacterial colonization and infection. We review some of the many infection control applications of chlorhexidine in the battle against HAI, such as general skin cleansing, skin decolonization, preoperative showering and bathing, vascular catheter site preparation, impregnated catheter site dressings, impregnated catheters, and oral decontamination. As mandatory public reporting and pay for performance force infection control issues to the forefront, chlorhexidine-containing products may provide a vast armamentarium for the control and prevention of HAI.
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U2 - 10.1086/524736
DO - 10.1086/524736
M3 - Review article
C2 - 18171263
AN - SCOPUS:39449138805
SN - 1058-4838
VL - 46
SP - 274
EP - 281
JO - Clinical Infectious Diseases
JF - Clinical Infectious Diseases
IS - 2
ER -