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Cochrane Review: Chlorhexidine skin care for prevention of mortality and infection in neonates

Tuesday, 11th of October 2016 Print

Cochrane Review: Chlorhexidine skin care for prevention of mortality and infection in neonates

 

Background

 

Infections are the single most important cause of neonatal deaths worldwide and are responsible for almost a third of all neonatal mortality. Affordable, feasible and efficacious interventions to reduce neonatal infections and improved neonatal survival are needed. Chlorhexidine, a broad spectrum antiseptic agent, is active against common organisms causing perinatal infections. Use of chlorhexidine on neonatal skin or cord, or both, for prevention of infection is a possible strategy to improve neonatal survival. In this review we assessed the effects of neonatal skin or cord care with chlorhexidine compared to routine care or no treatment on neonatal survival and infections in newborn infants born in the hospital or community.

Study characteristics

We searched the medical literature for studies done in hospitals and communities that evaluated infections and deaths in newborns randomly assigned to receive either chlorhexidine care or the standard practice. Searches were done up to November 2013. There were 12 relevant studies found: there were seven hospital-based and five community-based studies. In four studies maternal vaginal wash with chlorhexidine was done in addition to neonatal skin and cord care. The durations of the included studies ranged from 6 months to 37 months. The number of participants in the included studies ranged from 112 to 29,760. None of the included studies declared any conflict of interest or were funded by pharmaceutical companies.

Key findings

Newborn skin or cord cleansing with chlorhexidine compared to usual care in hospitals

Chlorhexidine cord cleansing compared to dry cord care may lead to no difference in neonatal mortality. However, chlorhexidine cord cleansing probably reduces the riskof omphalitis or infections.

Chlorhexidine skin cleansing compared to dry cord care may lead to no difference in omphalitis or infections (none of the studies in this comparison reported effects of the treatments on neonatal mortality).

Newborn skin or cord cleansing with chlorhexidine compared to usual care in the community

Chlorhexidine cord cleansing compared to dry cord care reduces neonatal mortalityand omphalitis or infections. There was no difference between chlorhexidine skin cleansing and usual skin care on neonatal mortality (none of the studies in this comparison reported effects of the treatments on omphalitis or infections).

Maternal vaginal chlorhexidine in addition to total body cleansing compared to nointervention (sterile saline solution) in hospitals

Maternal vaginal chlorhexidine in addition to total body cleansing compared to no probably leads to no difference in neonatal mortality and infections. Maternal vaginal cleansing in addition to total body cleansing increases the risk of hypothermia.

Maternal vaginal chlorhexidine in addition to total body cleansing compared to nointervention (sterile saline solution) in the community

Maternal vaginal chlorhexidine in addition to total body cleansing compared to nointervention may lead to no difference in neonatal mortality. Maternal vaginal chlorhexidine in addition to total body cleansing compared to no interventionprobably reduces the risk of neonatal infections (none of the studies included in this comparison reported effects on omphalitis).

Quality of evidence

The confidence in estimate of effect (quality of evidence) for the effects of chlorhexidine on neonatal mortality and omphalitis or infections were varied (low, moderate and high). Main reasons for downgrading the quality of evidence were poorly conducted studies and lack of enough data.

Authors conclusions: 

There is some uncertainty as to the effect of chlorhexidine applied to the umbilical cords of newborns in hospital settings on neonatal mortality. The quality of evidence for the effects on infection are moderate for cord application and low for application to skin. There is high-quality evidence that chlorhexidine skin or cord care in the community setting results in a 50% reduction in the incidence of omphalitis and a 12% reduction in neonatal mortality. Maternal vaginal chlorhexidine compared to usual care probably leads to no difference in neonatal mortality in hospital settings. Maternal vaginal chlorhexidine compared to usual care results in no difference in the riskof infections in hospital settings. The uncertainty over the effect of maternal vaginal chlorhexidine on mortality outcomes reflects small sample sizes and low event rates in the community settings.

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