Evaluating the effectiveness of octenidine-containing wash mitts in reducing infections in intensive care

Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) and, despite the decline of meticillin-resistant Staph. aureus (MRSA), infection remains a major cause of avoidable morbidity and mortality in hospitals (Bradley et al, 2017). Patients in intensive care units (ICUs) are at particular risk from the complications of HCAI and have a worse clinical outcome as a result of these than patients on general wards (Nuvials et al, 2015). The ICU is also a potential reservoir that can lead to the spread of hospital infections (Edgeworth, 2011; Bradley et al, 2017) and research suggests that infection control procedures undertaken in ICU affect patients throughout the entire hospital (Bradley et al, 2017).

For many years, a key approach to infection prevention was to identify MRSA-colonised patients, isolate them and instigate a targeted decontamination regimen using topical antimicrobials. There is, however, evidence that universal rather than targeted decontamination in ICU is more effective at reducing rates of bloodstream infections and in lowering costs (Robotham et al, 2011; Huang et al, 2014).