In a cost-effectiveness analysis using data from the ABATE Infection trial, a strategy of chlorhexidine bathing and nasal decolonization targeted to hospitalized adults with medical devices in non–intensive care unit (ICU) settings was cost-effective in reducing hospital-acquired infections.
The study results were published this month in JAMA Network Open.
ABATE Infection, an NIH Collaboratory Trial, was a cluster randomized pragmatic trial of universal chlorhexidine bathing and nasal decolonization compared with usual care for more than 500,000 hospitalized patients. Previous research had shown the effectiveness of the intervention in ICUs. ABATE Infection studied the intervention in non-ICU settings, finding no significant effect overall but a significant reduction in infections among patients with medical devices.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality later published a toolkit to help clinical teams reduce hospital-acquired infections based on the intervention materials used in the ABATE Infection trial.
For the cost-effectiveness analysis, researchers created a decision analysis model using a simulated cohort of patients based on the ABATE Infection study population. The targeted strategy for patients with medical devices was cost-effective in a wide range of scenarios from the perspectives of both hospitals and healthcare payers. Universal decolonization for all hospitalized adults in non-ICU settings was cost-effective in some scenarios.
ABATE Infection was supported within the NIH Collaboratory by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Learn more about ABATE Infection.