Chlorhexidine gluconate bathing of adult patients in intensive care units in São Paulo, Brazil: Impact on the incidence of healthcare-associated infection

Abstract Background There is an increasing use of daily chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) bathing to decrease healthcare associated infections (HAI). Daily bathing of patients with CHG has been successfully used to prevent multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) HAI in intensive care units (ICU). Methods This was a 12-month, single-center, open, cluster randomized trial, conducted at four ICUs of the University Hospital of Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Unifesp, Brazil. ICUs were randomized to either perform daily bathing of the patients with pH neutral soap and water - control units, or daily bathing with 2% CHG detergent solution - intervention units. We evaluated the incidence density rate of central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing enterobacteria HAI, and death in the intervention and control units. Results A total of 1,640 admissions of 1,487 patients occurred during the study period (41.2% control group, and 58.8% intervention group). Incidence density rates of KPC-producing enterobacteria HAI were 5.01 and 2.25 infections/1000 patient-days in the control units and in the intervention units (p = 0.013) and mortality rates were 28.7% and 18.7% in the control units and in the intervention units (p<0.001), respectively. No difference between groups was observed in CLABSI incidence (p = 0.125), VAP incidence (p = 0.247) and CAUTI incidence (p = 0.435). No serious skin reactions were noted in either study group. Daily 2% CHG detergent solution bathing is a feasible, low cost option for HAI prevention in ICU.

A simple multiplex PCR for assessing prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamases producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in Intensive Care Units of a referral hospital in Shiraz, Iran

OBJECTIVE@#To identify three common genes (blaTEM, blaSHV and blaCTX-M) responsible for ESBL production in Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae)isolated from Intensive Care Units of Namazi Hospital, Shiraz, Iran.@*METHODS@#A total of 60 non-repetitive nosocomial isolates from 60 patients were selected during 2009-2010. The phenotypic identification of ESBL production was confirmed by Double Disk Synergy Test (DDST) according to CLSI guidelines. The ESBL's genotype was then analyzed by multiplex PCR of blaTEM, blaSHV and blaCTX-M genes and DNA sequencing.@*RESULTS@#The primary susceptibility tests of K. pneumoniae showed that among 10 examined antibiotics, the most resistant and susceptible antibiotics identified in this study were ampicillin and imipenem, respectively. The phenotypic determination of ESBL by DDST showed that 60% (n=36) of isolates produced ESBL. Multiplex PCR of genes among K. pneumoniae isolates showed that 39% (n=18) of them have TEM, 39% (n=18) of them have both CTX-M and TEM and 13% (n=8) of them have TEM, SHV, CTX-M.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Our findings reveal the high prevalence (60%) of ESBL producing K. pneumoniae from ICU patients along with a new pattern of blaTEMdistribution differ from other countries.

Associations of exposure to noise with physiological and psychological outcomes among post-cardiac surgery patients in ICUs

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to study the associations of noise with heart rate, blood pressure, and perceived psychological and physiological responses among post-cardiac surgery patients in ICUs. METHODS: Forty patients participated in this study after recovering from anesthesia. A sound-level meter was placed at bedsides to measure noise level for 42 hours, and patients' heart rate and blood pressure were recorded every 5 minutes. Patients were also interviewed for their perceived psychological/physiological responses. RESULTS: The average noise level was between 59.0 and 60.8 dB(A) at the study site. Annoyance and insomnia were the respective psychological and physiological responses reported most often among the patients. Although noise level, irrespective of measures, was not observed to be significantly associated with the self-assessed psychological and physiological responses, it was significantly associated with both heart rate and blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that the noise in ICUs may adversely affect the heart rate and blood pressure of patients, which warrants the attention of hospital administrators and health care workers.

Necropsias de neonatos, fator da melhoria da qualidade nas UTIs neonatais / Neonatal necropsies as a factor in quality improvement of the neonatal ICUs

Neste estudo foram estudados 552 casos de necropsia de neomortos provenientes de unidades de terapia intensiva neonatais (UTINs). Desses, 265 apresentaram algum tipo de enfermidade ou lesão não esperada conseqüentes (direta ou indiretamente) a seu manuseio diagnóstico e/ou terapêutico. Os casos foram agrupados por tipo de enfermidade, em seus respectivos órgãos ou sistemas, que ressaltou a prevalência de lesões pulmonares, como membrana hialina, enfisema intersticial, displasia broncopulmonar e alterações graves em nível de sistema nervoso central (SNC), sinalizando o prognóstico quanto à qualidade de vida. Como parte das medidas terapêuticas, devem ser analisados os acessos arteriais e venosos dos vasos umbilicais, com suas complicações, e o acesso venoso profundo, propriamente dito, para nutrição parenteral total, com graves complicações fatais para o lado do coração, como endocardite fúngica e tamponamento cardíaco por "Intralipid". Foram discutidas as resultantes multissistêmicas dos quadros de hipotensão e choque: enterocolite necrotizante e necroses corticomedular, renal, hepática e miocárdica. Este trabalho ressalta o valor da necropsia na melhoria da qualidade das UTINs, bem como apresenta várias situações em que o diagnostico só foi conhecido devido à necropsia ou, então, o resultado modificou, de certa forma, a abordagem terapêutica futura. A consulta e a análise da literatura demonstram a virtual inexistência de metodologia adequada para desenvolver e estabelecer um comportamento que propicie o exercício sistemático de aferição do desempenho organizacional, e que reduza sensivelmente as possibilidades de efeitos indesejáveis relacionados com rotinas e procedimentos operacionais nesse campo da prática assistencial. As principais causas de insucesso parecem ser creditadas à tecnologia de máquinas e substâncias, cuja adequação à biologia dos organismos em desenvolvimento não é plenamente conhecida no que se refere à influência...

The present study emphasizes the necropsy value in the development of the neonatal ICU. We present many situations where the diagnostic was possible solely because of the necropsy, as well, many diagnosis were changed based on the necropsies results. The literature compilation shows no evidence of a systematic procedure concerning the mitigation of the problems related to the avaliable routines in this matter. The lack of a more scientific investigation related to the neonatal deaths is a enormous barrier to the improvement of those organizations (ITU's). Apparently, these failure is connected to machines and products thecnology not well know in terms of their suitability concerning under biological development organisms. Also, the necropsies appears to be a useful tool when the death results, directly or indirectly, from therapeutical process. The conception of a quality development process strategy represents a major issue, even more when you face new political decisions in health field, including cost reduction and higher complexity. Also, we need to pay special attention to science and research ethical principles.