Healthcare-associated infections in adult intensive care unit patients: Changes in epidemiology, diagnosis, prevention and contributions of new technologies.
Stijn Blot, Etienne Ruppé, Stephan Harbarth and 12 others
PMID 35249794WHAT IT FOUND
ICU-acquired infections remain common and deadly; nursing vigilance over catheter sites, wounds, hand hygiene and daily device review is central.
Routine chlorhexidine mouthwash is not clearly safe, and infection prevention must fit local resistance.
Key findings
01ICU nurses have a central role in preventing and managing healthcare-associated infections through basic hygiene, monitoring infection-sensitive sites, microbiological sampling and aspects of antibiotic stewardship.
02Catheter-related bloodstream infections decreased in several countries over the last decade, with rates of 1.0/1000 catheter-days or less reported due to optimized nursing care and technical innovation.
03In ICU patients, chlorhexidine oral care was associated with increased mortality in observational cohorts and with sepsis and death in a large cohort, while omitting it did not affect ICU mortality and improved oral health scores.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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The easy way to misread this
Do not read the chlorhexidine mouthwash findings as proof that it causes death. The mortality signals come from observational cohorts, and the review says the hypothesis needs confirmation before changing practice.