Bed Bath Protocol for Infection Reduction: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the effect of implementing a bed bath protocol in relation to infection-free time and the prevalence of Healthcare-Associated Infections. Method: A quasi-experimental study with a comparison between two groups. In the Control Group, the data were retrospectively collected between January and April 2018. Implementation of the bed bath protocol in an Intensive Care Unit took place from May to October 2018. Data from the Intervention Group were collected from November 2018 to February 2019 through daily follow-up during the hospitalization period. Results: There were 157 participants in the Control Group and 169 in the Intervention Group, with a mean age of 56 and 54 years old, respectively, and majority of male individuals. The occurrence of Healthcare-Associated Infections was higher in the Control Group (n=32; 20.4%) compared to the Intervention Group (n=10; 5.9%), which presented a 2.86 times lower risk of developing Healthcare-Associated Infections (p<0.01). The Intervention Group presented a longer infection-free time when compared to the Control Group, which had a mean of 2.46 times higher risk of developing infections in the Intensive Care Unit (95%CI: 1.18; 5.11). Conclusion: The study provides support for standardizing the bed bath technique and to preventing health-care associated infections. There is a limitation in generalization of the results, as the groups come from a quasi-experimental before-after design with a non-equivalent Control Group due to the absence of random distribution in the compared groups.