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Skin and nasal decolonization using chlorhexidine bathing and mupirocin nares application have proven quite effective in reducing drug-resistant pathogens and bloodstream infection in patients in intensive care units (ICUs). Would a similar approach benefit non-ICU patients?
Investigators now report the results of the cluster-randomized ABATE (active bathing to eliminate infection) trial, in which a decolonization effort was expanded to include patients in a total of 194 non-ICU wards in 53 HCA Healthcare hospitals. Infections occurring in 189,000 patients during a 12-month baseline period were compared with infections in 157,000 patients receiving routine care and 183,000 patients receiving chlorhexidine bathing during a 21-month treatment …