SynthesisAntimicrobial resistance and infection control2021
Effectiveness of chlorhexidine in preventing infections among patients undergoing cardiac surgeries: a meta-analysis and systematic review.
Synthesis in Antimicrobial resistance and infection control, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Preoperative chlorhexidine mouthwash to prevent postoperative infections in low-risk elective abdominal surgeries: a double-blind RCT from North India among patients with poor oral hygiene.BMJ global health · 2026Trial
- Dental and oral management in the perioperative period of surgery: A scoping review.The Japanese dental science review · 2024Article
- Impact of various solutions on the oral health status of critically ill patients.Journal of medicine and life · 2024Article
- Post-operative infections after cardiothoracic surgery and vascular procedures: a bibliometric and visual analysis of the 100 most-cited articles in the past 2 decades.GMS hygiene and infection control · 2024Review
- Oral microbiome: a doubtful predictor but potential target of cardiovascular diseases.Medical review (2021) · 2023Article
- Stopping prehospital chlorhexidine skin wash does not increase wound morbidity after incisional hernia repair: results of a 4-year quality improvement initiative.Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2023Article
- Surgical Site Infection in Cardiac Surgery.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlthough several meta-analyses reported the impact of chlorhexidine (CHX) use in patients undergoing various types of surgery, no meta-analysis summarized the overall effectiveness of CHX specifically for cardiac surgery. This meta-analysis aimed to examine the impact of CHX on infections after cardiac surgery compared with other cleansers or antiseptics.
methodsPubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception up to October 2020 for potentially eligible studies: (1) population: patients who underwent cardiac surgery; (2) intervention or exposure: any type of CHX use in the treatment or exposed group; (3) outcome: number of patients with infections; (4) comparison: placebo or other antiseptic agents; (5) English. The primary outcome was surgical site infection (SSI).
resultsFourteen studies were included, with 8235 and 6901 patients in the CHX and control groups. CHX was not protective against SSI (OR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.57-1.04, P = 0.090). CHX was protective for superficial wound infection (OR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.26-0.70, P = 0.001), but not with deep wound infection (P = 0.509). CHX was not protective against urinary tract of infection (P = 0.415) but was protective for bloodstream infection (OR = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.16-0.80, P = 0.012), nosocomial infections (OR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.44-0.69, P < 0.001), and pneumonia (OR = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.11-0.61, P = 0.002).
conclusionsIn patients undergoing cardiac surgery, CHX does not protect against SSI, deep wound infection, and urinary tract infections but might protect against superficial SSI, bloodstream infection, nosocomial infections, and pneumonia.
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