A PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF 2% CHLORHEXIDINEIN 70% ETHANOL, COMPARED WITH 5% POVIDONE-IODINE IN 70% ETHANOLAS CUTANEOUS ANTISEPTICS FOR PREVENTION OF CENTRAL VENOUSCATHETER COLONIZATION
Abstract:
Objectives: There has been an increasing use of central venous catheter (CVC) in critically ill patients and chemotherapy recipients, leading to substantial CVC-associated morbidity and mortality. A cutaneous antiseptic before CVC insertion is one of the 5 most important recommended bundled strategies to prevent CVC-related infections. However, to our knowledge, there has been no randomized controlled study to compare the effectiveness of 2% chlorhexidine in 70% ethanol and 5% povidone-iodine in 70% ethanol for prevention of the CVC colonization and infection. Patients and methods: A prospective randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded study was carried out in 2 Medicine intensive care units (ICUs) and 8 Medicine wards of King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospitals, Bangkok, Thailand, from April 1, 2014 to January 31, 2015 in all adult patients aged over 18 years requiring the insertion of at least 1 non-tunneled central venous catheter. Two percent chlorhexidine in 70% ethanol or 5% povidone-iodine in 70% ethanol antiseptic was randomly assigned to each 1 of the 2 ICUs and 3 of the 6 wards when the study began. Depending on the unit and the time the patient was hospitalized, the CVC was inserted and cared for with alcoholic povidone-iodine solution or alcoholic chlorhexidine solution. The primary outcome was aimed to compare the CVC colonization rates between the 2 groups, using the modified intention to treat (ITT) analysis. Results: Of a total of 427 patients, 535 CVCs were included with 270 in the alcoholic chlorhexidine group and 265 in the alcoholic povidone-iodine group during the study period. The patients in the 2 groups were comparable regarding to age, sex, preexisting diseases, length of hospital stay, site and reason of CVC insertion. The CVC colonization rate was 2.22% (6 of 270 CVCs, 1.012 per 1,000 catheter-days) and 2.64% (7 of 265 CVCs, 1.18 per 1,000 catheter-days) in the alcoholic chlorhexidine and alcoholic povidone-iodine group, respectively [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.01; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.31 to 3.23; P=0.99]. The CVC-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) rate was 2.96% (8 of 270 CVCs, 1.36 per 1,000 catheter-days) and 1.89% (5 of 259 CVCs, 0.84 per 1,000 catheter-days) in the alcoholic chlorhexidine and alcoholic povidone-iodine group, respectively(adjusted OR 0.53; 95% CI 0.16 to 1.76; P=0.3). There was no significant difference regarding the rates of exit-site infection between the alcoholic chlorhexidine group (1.11%, 3 of 270 patients, 0.51 per 1,000 catheter-days) and the alcoholic povidone-iodine group (1.89%, 5 of 259 patients, 0.84 per 1,000 catheter-days) (adjusted OR 1.42; 95% CI 0.23 to 6.71; P=0.66).The results assessed by the per protocol analysis were unchanged from the modified ITT analysis. Conclusions:There was no significant difference in both CVC colonization and CRBSI between 2% chlorhexidine in 70% ethanol and 5% povidone-iodine in 70% ethanol as cutaneous antiseptics before CVC insertion in patients hospitalized in Medicine ICUs and wards.