Oral decontamination with chlorhexidine reduced ventilator associated pneumonia in patients needing mechanical ventilation for ⩾48 hours
Q In patients requiring mechanical ventilation for ⩾48 hours, is oral decontamination with chlorhexidine (CHX) or CHX plus colistin (COL) effective for reducing ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP)?
METHODS
Design:
randomised placebo controlled trial.
Allocation:
{concealed}.*
Blinding:
blinded (clinicians, patients, {outcome assessors, data collectors, data analysts, monitoring committee, manuscript writers, and pharmacists of participating centres}*).
Follow up period:
up to diagnosis of VAP, death, or extubation.
Setting:
2 mixed and 2 surgical intensive care units (ICUs) in 2 university hospitals and mixed ICUs in 3 general hospitals in the Netherlands.
Patients:
385 patients >18 years of age (mean age 62 y, 60% men) requiring mechanical ventilation for ⩾48 hours. Exclusion criteria were preadmission immunocompromised status (defined as leucopaenia <3 × 109/l, cumulative dose of corticosteroids >750 mg/y, or human …
