Use of standardized nasal and skin decolonization to reduce rates of bacteremia in patients undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

Abstract Objective: We aimed to determine if implementation of universal nasal decolonization with daily chlorhexidine bathing will decrease blood stream infections (BSI) in patients undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Tertiary ca...

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Main Authors: Madyson Taylor, Russell L Griffin, Jeremey Walker, Catina James, Angela Akinsanya, Mary Duncan, Rachael A Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2025-01-01
Series:Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology
Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2732494X25000099/type/journal_article
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Summary:Abstract Objective: We aimed to determine if implementation of universal nasal decolonization with daily chlorhexidine bathing will decrease blood stream infections (BSI) in patients undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Tertiary care facility. Patients: Patients placed on ECMO from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2023. Intervention: Daily bathing with 4% chlorhexidine soap and universal mupirocin nasal decolonization were initiated for all ECMO patients May 2021. The primary outcome was rate of ECMO-attributable positive blood cultures. Zero-inflated Poisson regression analysis was performed to estimate rate ratios (RRs) for the association between decolonization with BSI rates. Results: A total of 776 patients met inclusion criteria during the study period, 425 (55%) preimplementation and 351 (45%) post-implementation. Following implementation of decolonization, the overall incidence rate of BSI increased nonsignificantly from 10.7 to 14.0 infections per 1000 ECMO days (aRR 1.09, 95% CI 0.74–1.59). For gram-positive cocci (GPC) pathogens, a nonsignificant 40% increased rate was observed in the post-implementation period (RR 1.40, 95% CI 0.89–2.21), due mostly to a significant increase in the crude rate of Enterococcus BSI (RR 1.89, 95% CI 1.01–3.55). Excluding Enterococcus resulted in a nonsignificant 28% decreased rate (aRR 0.72, 95% CI 0.39-1.36) due to a nonsignificant 55% decreased rate of MRSA (aRR 0.45, 95% CI 0.18–3.58). Conclusions: Implementation of a universal decolonization protocol did not significantly reduce rates of certain BSIs, including MRSA and other gram-positive pathogens. Although nonsignificant, reduction in BSI rates in this patient population has important implications on surveillance metrics, such as MRSA, and in the future, hospital-onset bacteremia.
ISSN:2732-494X