title: Effect of less frequent bathing on premature infant skin.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of less frequent bathing on skin flora of premature infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized clinical trial comparing the impact of every other day bathing to every 4th day bathing on skin flora type and colony count.
  
  
  METHODS
  University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center Level IV neonatal intensive-care unit.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-three premature infants less than 37 weeks gestational age, 14 days or older, and receiving a bath.
  
  
  METHODS
  Premature infants were randomized to either every other day bathing (control group, n = 28) or every 4th day bathing (intervention group, n = 25).
  
  
  METHODS
  Skin flora type and colony count obtained weekly.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Repeated-measures ANOVA was used to test the main effect of group, time, and Group x Time interaction. These factors were not statistically significant; group F(1,21) = 1.842, p = .189; time F(3,63) = 1.359, p = .263; Group x Time interaction F(3,63) = 0.753, p = .525. None of the infants developed an infection as a result of participating in the study protocol.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Every 4th day bathing of premature infants appears to be safe.
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center, 505 Parnassus Avenue, Box 0210, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. doloresquinn@earthlink.net
authors.forename: Dolores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Newton
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Piecuch
mesh_terms: D001494:Baths / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007224:Infant Care / Q000379:methods*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D008297:Male; D017283:Neonatal Nursing / Q000379:methods; D011247:Pregnancy; D012016:Reference Values; D012867:Skin / Q000382:microbiology*; D017592:Skin Care / Q000379:methods*; D014987:Xerostomia