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Effectiveness of Routine Patient Bathing to Decrease the Burden of Spores on the Skin of Patients with Clostridium difficile Infection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Lucy A. Jury
Affiliation:
Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Dubert M. Guerrero
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio
Christopher J. Burant
Affiliation:
Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
Jennifer L. Cadnum
Affiliation:
Research Service, Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Curtis J. Donskey*
Affiliation:
Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
*
Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, Louis Stokes Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 10701 East Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44106 (curtisdl23@yahoo.com)

Abstract

For 74 patients with Clostridium difficile infection, the quality and frequency of bathing was often limited because of such factors as the presence of devices, decreased mobility, and pain. Routine bathing practices had limited efficacy in decreasing the burden of spores on skin; however, showers were more effective than bed baths.

Type
Concise Communication
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2011

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