The effect of hexachlorophene on staphylococcal colonization rates in the newborn infant: A controlled study using a single-bath method

Abstract

Three hundred and thirty-two infants admitted to the normal newborn nursery at Harbor General Hospital during January and February, 1972, were divided into two groups. Half received a single bath with 3 per cent hexachlorophene at 2 to 4 hours of age followed by thorough rinsing with water. The other half was bathed with water only. Cohort system and careful hand-washing technique with hexachlorophene were observed during the study period. Cultures of the anterior nares and cord were taken on the third day of life prior to discharge from the hospital. Twenty-one (12.6 per cent) of those bathed with water and nine (5.4 per cent) of those bathed with hexachlorophene were colonized with Staphylococcus aureus on discharge. Follow-up cultures 2 to 4 weeks after discharge showed that 6 of the 9 hexachlorophene-bathed infants and 14 of the 21 water bathed infants were still positive. An acceptably low staphylococcal carrier rate (9 per cent) was found in the infants discharged from the nursey during this study. It appears that a single bath with 3 per cent hexachlorophene in the early hours of life followed by thorough rinsing can be expected to effect an additional, significant reduction in the rate of staphylococcal colonization.