ArticleInfection prevention in practice2026
Effect of bathing with 2% chlorhexidine gluconate every other day on healthcare-associated infections in the medical intensive care unit.
Article in Infection prevention in practice, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- 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 · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) cause morbidity and mortality in patients at medical intensive care units (MICUs). However, current literature reports inconsistent findings on the effect of daily bathing with 2% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) on reducing HAIs and that the solution can cause skin harm. This study aimed to explore the effect of bathing with 2% CHG every 2 days on HAIs in the MICU. Methods: This study used a quasi-experimental design (experimental group) and a medical record review (control group). Patients in the control group were admitted to the MICU at a medical centre in Taiwan from March 2018 to February 2019 and used general soap for bathing every other day as part of the unit's routine. The experimental group was recruited from March 2019 to February 2020 and used 2% CHG wet wipes for bathing every other day. The study outcome was to compare the effects on HAIs, catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) between these two groups. Results: A total of 731 patients in the MICU participated in the study over 12 months. HAIs were significantly different between the experimental (5.9‰) and control (8.9‰) groups, and CAUTIs were also considerably different between the experimental (1.1‰) and control (5.2‰) groups. In contrast, CLABSIs and VAP did not show differences between these two groups. Conclusions: Bathing with 2% CHG every 2 days for 12 months was associated with reduced HAIs and CAUTIs in the MICU. However, strict aseptic procedures still should be followed during routine care.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.