Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40148400›Full record

SynthesisScientific reports2025

Chlorhexidine solutions are more effective than povidone-iodine solutions as skin disinfectants for the prevention of intravascular catheter-related infections: A meta-analysis.

Aiping Deng, Fangli Xiong, Qiuping Ren

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Does alternate-day bathing with 2% chlorhexidine improve clinical outcomes in critically ill patients? A systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Aiping Deng *West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Fangli Xiong *West China School of Nursing, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Qiuping RenWest China School of Nursing, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. 1076896674@qq.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Catheter-related infections pose a significant risk to critically ill patients, making it crucial to select an appropriate sterilization solution. However, there is currently no consensus on the use of chlorhexidine-containing solutions or povidone-iodine (PVI) and the auxiliary ingredients in solutions. Meta-analysis. PubMed, EMBASE, OVID, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases. Two reviewers independently performed study screening and data extraction and used the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool 2.0 (RoB 2.0) for quality assessment. We included 10 fully published RCTs with 12 pairs of comparisons, which included a total of 9,689 catheters. The analysis revealed that chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG)-containing solutions were significantly more effective than PVI in preventing CRBSI (RR = 0.460, 95% CI 0.323-0.654, P < 0.001), catheter-related sepsis (RR = 0.419, 95% CI 0.206-0.853, P = 0.016), and catheter colonization (RR = 0.409, 95% CI 0.266-0.630, P < 0.001). Further subgroup analysis demonstrated that, regardless of the concentration of CHG (≤ 1% or > 1%), it was superior to PVI in preventing CRBSI and catheter colonization (RR = 0.271 ~ 0.585, 95% CI 0.110 ~ 0.400‒0.590‒0.926). CHG-alcohol is most effective at preventing catheter-related infections, especially those caused by 70% alcohol. Compared to PVI, CHG-70% alcohol is the most effective disinfectant for preventing catheter-related infections, as it combines the rapid disinfection and evaporation properties of alcohol with the prolonged antimicrobial effects of chlorhexidine.PROSPERO registration number: CRD42024507163.

Indexed as

Anti-Infective Agents, LocalCatheter-Related InfectionsChlorhexidineDisinfectantsPovidone-IodineHumansSkinAnti-Infective Agents, LocalChlorhexidinechlorhexidine gluconateDisinfectantsPovidone-IodineCatheter-related bloodstream infectionsChlorhexidinePovidone-iodine

Identifiers

PMID40148400
PMCPMC11950504

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

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.