Daily use of antimicrobial wipes combined with standard bathing helped one facility cut its methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus transmission rate by 82%, a study found.
At the start of a study in one 27-bed post-acute care unit, investigators observed an average MRSA transmission rate of 4.99 cases per 1,000 patient days. Investigators then introduced disposable wipes treated with the antimicrobial chlorhexidine gluconate as a standard of care in daily bathing regimes.
The study presents “a potentially promising intervention to reduce MRSA transmission and improve patient safety as part of an overall bundle of infection prevention strategies as identified by a facility’s infection risk assessment,” said Michelle Farber, RN, an Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology official.