title: Chlorhexidine cleaning of re-usable bougies.
abstract: Bougies are susceptible to becoming contaminated before or during use. Chlorhexidine wipes may have a residual antibacterial effect, potentially minimising bacterial transmission after bougie use or storage. We evaluated the decontaminant and antibacterial effectiveness of 70% alcohol/2% chlorhexidine wipes in laboratory, clinical and accelerated ageing studies, and conducted a telephone survey of normal practice. In the laboratory tests, chlorhexidine wipes were completely effective against Escherichia coli and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and prevented recontamination for 24 h. Clinical introduction of chlorhexidine wipes reduced bougie contamination from 33% to 0%. Following 150 cleaning episodes, there was no physical or functional damage to the bougies. Eight out of nine hospitals in the East of England Health Region use re-usable bougies. We recommend that following decontamination, bougies should be wiped with 70% alcohol/2% chlorhexidine wipes, to retain antimicrobial activity during handling.
authors.affiliation: Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kings Lynn, UK.
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Cummings
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Howell
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thoppil
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Flaxman
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Blunt
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000776:Anesthesiology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002710:Chlorhexidine; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003666:Decontamination / Q000379:methods; D004202:Disinfectants; D017743:Equipment Reuse / Q000592:standards*; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006761:Hospitals; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017613:Iodine Compounds; D057766:Policy
chemical_list: D004202:Disinfectants; D017613:Iodine Compounds; D002710:Chlorhexidine