Author Interviews, CDC, Infections, JAMA / 01.04.2024
Regional Decolonization Efforts in Hospitals and Nursing Homes Led to Reduced Infections, Hospitalizations, Costs and Deaths
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Susan S. Huang, MD, MPH
Chancellor's Professor, Infectious Diseases
School of Medicine
Department of Epidemiology and Infection Prevention
University of California Irvine School of Medicine, Irvine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you describe the decolonization techniques?
- This study arose from a growing concern about the increasing number and presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria causing colonization and infection in hospitals and long-term care. CDC has had a longstanding interest in the value of regional control of these contagious pathogens and they funded this study.
The study was actually in two parts:
- –1) Simulate various infection prevention strategies in a model and see which works best, and then
- - 2) Do it in real life. The SHIELD project was the real-life example of our simulation finding that decolonization would work the best to prevent harm from antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
- The regional idea is that it takes all of us working together – hospitals, nursing homes, and long-term acute care hospitals – to prevent the spread and sharing of contagious pathogens. What we can accomplish together is far greater than what any of us can do alone.
- In this study, decolonization was the use of topical chlorhexidine antiseptic soap and povidone-iodine nasal ointments to reduce potentially harmful bacteria on the body during times when patients and residents may be at risk for infection. We swapped out bathing and showering soap with CHG in participating facilities and ensured that staff knew to clean the body well, including wounds, devices, and rashes where germs can hide and cause infection. For CHG, this involved 4% rinse off product in the shower and 2% no-rinse CHG for bed baths.
