Trial reportLancet (London, England)2013
Daily chlorhexidine bathing to reduce bacteraemia in critically ill children: a multicentre, cluster-randomised, crossover trial.
Trial report in Lancet (London, England), 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 78 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Impact of Daily Bathing With Chlorhexidine Impregnated Cloths on Nosocomial Infections in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Prevention of Nosocomial Bacteremia and Mortality Among Neonates at a Tertiary Referral Center in Zambia
A Randomized Controlled Trial of 2% Chlorhexidine Gluconate Skin Preparation Cloths for the Prevention of Post op Surgical Site Infections in Spine Patients (Decrease SSI or DeSSI)
Who cites it
78 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 217 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic literature review on surgical site preparation in paediatric surgery.BMC pediatrics · 2022Pooled it
- Chlorhexidine bathing of the critically ill for the prevention of hospital-acquired infection.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Prevention of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections through chlorhexidine gluconate-impregnated washcloth bathing in intensive care units: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised crossover trials.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2016Pooled it
- The efficacy of daily chlorhexidine bathing for preventing healthcare-associated infections in adult intensive care units.The Korean journal of internal medicine · 2016Pooled it
- Doubly blind: a systematic review of gender in randomised controlled trials.Global health action · 2016Pooled it
- The rise of multiple imputation: a review of the reporting and implementation of the method in medical research.BMC medical research methodology · 2015Pooled it
- Octenidine or Sterile Water Cleansing and Late-Onset Sepsis in Neonates in the NICU: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2026Trial
- Decolonization in Nursing Homes to Prevent Infection and Hospitalization.The New England journal of medicine · 2023Trial
- Central-line associated bloodstream infections in intensive care units before and after implementation of daily antiseptic bathing with chlorhexidine or octenidine: a post-hoc analysis of a cluster-randomised controlled trial.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2023Trial
- Chlorhexidine and Mupirocin for Clearance of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Colonization After Hospital Discharge: A Secondary Analysis of the Changing Lives by Eradicating Antibiotic Resistance Trial.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Chlorhexidine versus routine bathing to prevent multidrug-resistant organisms and all-cause bloodstream infections in general medical and surgical units (ABATE Infection trial): a cluster-randomised trial.Lancet (London, England) · 2019Trial
- Decolonization to Reduce Postdischarge Infection Risk among MRSA Carriers.The New England journal of medicine · 2019Trial
- Trial
- A Multicenter Pragmatic Interrupted Time Series Analysis of Chlorhexidine Gluconate Bathing in Community Hospital Intensive Care Units.Infection control and hospital epidemiology · 2016Trial
- Effect of chlorhexidine bathing and other infection control practices on the Benefits of Universal Glove and Gown (BUGG) trial: a subgroup analysis.Infection control and hospital epidemiology · 2015Trial
- Daily bathing with chlorhexidine-based soap and the prevention of Staphylococcus aureus transmission and infection.Infection control and hospital epidemiology · 2014Trial
- Effectiveness of Bath Wipes After Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: A Randomized Trial.Journal of pediatric oncology nursing : official journal of the Association of Pediatric Oncology NursesTrial
- Shielding little warriors: enhancing hygiene with chlorhexidine bathing in paediatric oncology - a quality improvement initiative.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Molecular Epidemiology, Clinical Manifestations, Decolonization Strategies, and Treatment Options of Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus Aureus Infection in Neonates.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundBacteraemia is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in critically ill children. Our objective was to assess whether daily bathing in chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) compared with standard bathing practices would reduce bacteraemia in critically ill children.
methodsIn an unmasked, cluster-randomised, two-period crossover trial, ten paediatric intensive-care units at five hospitals in the USA were randomly assigned a daily bathing routine for admitted patients older than 2 months, either standard bathing practices or using a cloth impregnated with 2% CHG, for a 6-month period. Units switched to the alternative bathing method for a second 6-month period. 6482 admissions were screened for eligibility. The primary outcome was an episode of bacteraemia. We did intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) analyses. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier NCT00549393).
findings1521 admitted patients were excluded because their length of stay was less than 2 days, and 14 refused to participate. 4947 admissions were eligible for analysis. In the ITT population, a non-significant reduction in incidence of bacteraemia was noted with CHG bathing (3·52 per 1000 days, 95% CI 2·64-4·61) compared with standard practices (4·93 per 1000 days, 3·91-6·15; adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR] 0·71, 95% CI 0·42-1·20). In the PP population, incidence of bacteraemia was lower in patients receiving CHG bathing (3·28 per 1000 days, 2·27-4·58) compared with standard practices (4·93 per 1000 days, 3·91-6·15; aIRR 0·64, 0·42-0·98). No serious study-related adverse events were recorded, and the incidence of CHG-associated skin reactions was 1·2 per 1000 days (95% CI 0·60-2·02).
interpretationCritically ill children receiving daily CHG bathing had a lower incidence of bacteraemia compared with those receiving a standard bathing routine. Furthermore, the treatment was well tolerated.
fundingSage Products, US National Institutes of Health.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.