Evidence-based care combined with chlorhexidine gluconate antimicrobial dressing in the prevention of peritoneal dialysis catheter-associated infections

Abstract

To effectively prevent catheter-related infections during peritoneal dialysis (PD), we have applied evidence-based care (EBC) and chlorhexidine gluconate antimicrobial dressings (CHGAD) to the management of PD patients. CHGAD demonstrated good hygroscopic properties, effectively preventing the pooling of blood and exudate at the catheter outlet. Additionally, CHGAD could effectively inhibit the activity of G+ and G− bacteria, providing effective antibacterial effect on the wound. Furthermore, we found that CHGAD also exhibited good biocompatibility without affecting the activity of fibroblasts. Patients undergoing PD treatment were randomly assigned to either the control or EBC group. The control group received standard care while the EBC group received EBC along with CHGAD. Subsequently, we compared patient- and healthcare-related risk factors, treatment adherence, self-care, catheter infection rates, and satisfaction between the two groups. The results demonstrated that EBC effectively reduced risk factors for catheter infections by improving compliance rate of patients’ Hb, HbA1c, and Alb level, as well as hand hygiene compliance, dialysis water management, high-frequency contact table, disinfection and isolation, and catheter maintenance during dialysis. Furthermore, EBC improved patients’ treatment adherence, self-care ability, and participation in PD catheter management. The combination of EBC and CHGAD effectively reduced the incidence of catheter infections and improved patient satisfaction with care. Consequently, EBC combined with CHGAD shows significant potential in the management of catheter infections in PD patients and should be advocated in clinical practice.