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Disposable cleansing clothes reduced MRSA rates in geriatric facility

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Using disposable, germ-killing cloths for daily bathing reduced the rate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus incidence at a geriatric facility by 82%, according to a presentation at the 39th Annual Educational Conference and International Meeting of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

Previously, the team of infection preventionists from Baycrest, a geriatric health care system in Ontario, Canada, found that after a 6-month implementation of daily baths with disposable chlorhexidine gluconate cloths, the MRSA transmission rate declined from 4.99 per 1,000 patient days to 0.56 per 1,000 patient days.

The current study is a continuation of the original study and involved monitoring MRSA transmission during a 33-month period. The study took place in an acute care and transition unit in a geriatric facility. The average age of the patients was 87 years. Pre-intervention, there were 169 admissions, and post-intervention, there were 1,339 admissions. MRSA transmission was assessed using swabs that were collected within 48 hours of admission and on discharge.

After the 33-month period, the MRSA transmission rate was 0.88 per 1,000 patient days. Although the rate of infection was increased compared with the results of the initial 6-month study, this still represented an 82% overall reduction in incidence during the 33-month period.

“Because patients who are colonized with MRSA have a much greater chance of developing an MRSA infection, we knew we needed to intervene to stop transmission and prevent infection,” study researcher Heather Candon, MSc, infection prevention and control practitioner at Baycrest, said in a press release. “Use of the chlorhexidine gluconate cloths proved to be a very effective way to achieve and sustain this reduction.”

References:

Candon H. #14-204. Presented at: 39th Annual Educational Conference and International Meeting of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology; June 4-6, 2012; San Antonio.

Disclosures:

Ms. Candon reports no relevant financial disclosures.