Chlorhexidine impregnated surgical scrubs and whole-body wash for reducing colonization of health care personnel.

BACKGROUND

The use of chlorhexidine as a strategy to reduce nosocomial infections in patients has been proven useful. Bacterial contamination of health care worker's uniforms during routine patient care has been demonstrated to have potential for horizontal transmission of pathogens.

METHODS

We performed a prospective, open comparative trial. We included nurses who were in direct patient care and evaluated clothing microbial growth during 3 interventions: (1) participants were given a sterile surgical scrub (SSS) to put on the beginning of the shift, (2) they were instructed to take a chlorhexidine bath (CHG-B) before putting on the SSS, and (3) participants were given a chlorhexidine impregnated SSS (CI-SSS). Cultures were obtained from 3 areas (chest pocket, chest, and abdominal) at hour 0, 6, and 12 hours after the start of the shift.

RESULTS

A total of 306 cultures processed with 17 bacterial groups. The uniform area with the highest number of CFU was the abdomen (818 CFU), followed by the thorax (654 CFU). Over 50% of the bacterial load occurred at 12 hours (1,092 CFU at 12 hours, 766 CFU at 6 hours, and 184 CFU at 0 hour). There was a significant reduction in CFU when SSS was compared to CHG-B (CFU mean = 12.5 [0-118] vs CFU mean = 3.5 [0-22], P = .003); and SSS versus CI-SSS (CFU mean = 12.5 [0-118] vs CFU mean = 3 [0-39], P = .007). No severe adverse events were reported.

CONCLUSIONS

Bacterial load in uniforms decreased when chlorhexidine was used (bathing of personnel or impregnation) when compared to the use of a sterile uniform.