Ecological Effects of Decolonisation Strategies in Intensive Care

Summary

Previous research has shown that applying certain treatments can reduce both the number of infections and the presence of resistant bacteria in the intensive care (ICU) and its patients. These treatments have been used as standard care throughout the world for many years, but they have not been compared to each other yet. The investigators aim to evaluate the effect of 3 different treatments on the occurrence of resistant bacteria and bacterial infections in the ICU and to establish which treatment is the best. All adult patients undergoing mechanical ventilation are eligible for this study and will receive treatment according to the study scheme. Twice weekly, sputum and rectal samples will be obtained to measure the effects. All ICU-patients will receive standard treatment, consisting of daily body washing with an antiseptic (chlorhexidine 2%), oral care and a hand-hygiene program for health care workers as endorsed by the WHO. According to 4 different study periods, each participant will receive one of the following extra treatments depending on his or her admission date: * Standard treatment only (this is the control group) * Chlorhexidine 1% oral gel, this is an antiseptic. * Antibiotic mouth paste containing 3 different antibiotics (selective oropharyngeal decontamination, SOD). * Antibiotic mouth paste and suspension for the stomach and intestines containing 3 different antibiotics (selective digestive decontamination, SDD). All treatments will be given 4 times daily with the purpose of killing harmful bacteria in the mouth (CHX, SOD,SDD) and digestive tract (SDD). During the study the investigators will examine the effect of these treatments on: * the occurrence of blood stream infections with certain bacteria * cross-transmission of certain bacteria between patients * presence of these bacteria in the respiratory tract of the patients * patient survival Benefits: Previous research has shown that these interventions can reduce infections in intensive care patients. Risks: The interventions performed (both cultures and treatment) are considered safe and are already given as standard care in many ICUs throughout the world. There is a slight risk that bacteria become resistant to antibiotics: this will be monitored closely during the trial.

Timeline

Start

2013-12-01

Primary completion

2017-10-27

Completion

2017-10-27

Publications

• Background de Smet AM, Kluytmans JA, Cooper BS, Mascini EM, Benus RF, van der Werf TS, van der Hoeven JG, Pickkers P, Bogaers-Hofman D, van der Meer NJ, Bernards AT, Kuijper EJ, Joore JC, Leverstein-van Hall MA, Bindels AJ, Jansz AR, Wesselink RM, de Jongh BM, Dennesen PJ, van Asselt GJ, te Velde LF, Frenay IH, Kaasjager K, Bosch FH, van Iterson M, Thijsen SF, Kluge GH, Pauw W, de Vries JW, Kaan JA, Arends JP, Aarts LP, Sturm PD, Harinck HI, Voss A, Uijtendaal EV, Blok HE, Thieme Groen ES, Pouw ME, Kalkman CJ, Bonten MJ. Decontamination of the digestive tract and oropharynx in ICU patients. N Engl J Med. 2009 Jan 1;360(1):20-31. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0800394.
• Background Edwards SJ, Braunholtz DA, Lilford RJ, Stevens AJ. Ethical issues in the design and conduct of cluster randomised controlled trials. BMJ. 1999 May 22;318(7195):1407-9. doi: 10.1136/bmj.318.7195.1407. No abstract available.
• Background Funk MJ, Westreich D, Wiesen C, Sturmer T, Brookhart MA, Davidian M. Doubly robust estimation of causal effects. Am J Epidemiol. 2011 Apr 1;173(7):761-7. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwq439. Epub 2011 Mar 8.
• Background McCaffrey DF, Griffin BA, Almirall D, Slaughter ME, Ramchand R, Burgette LF. A tutorial on propensity score estimation for multiple treatments using generalized boosted models. Stat Med. 2013 Aug 30;32(19):3388-414. doi: 10.1002/sim.5753. Epub 2013 Mar 18.
• Rajakani SG, Xavier BB, Nguyen NM, Lin Q, Braspenning A, Plantinga NL, Wittekamp BHJ, Zarkotou O, Van Houdt R, Glupczynski Y, Pournaras S, Bonten MJM, Malhotra-Kumar S. Characterization of genome-wide transpositions induced by colistin exposure in multi-drug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2025 Jul 2;69(7):e0157424. doi: 10.1128/aac.01574-24. Epub 2025 May 19.
• Wittekamp BH, Plantinga NL, Cooper BS, Lopez-Contreras J, Coll P, Mancebo J, Wise MP, Morgan MPG, Depuydt P, Boelens J, Dugernier T, Verbelen V, Jorens PG, Verbrugghe W, Malhotra-Kumar S, Damas P, Meex C, Leleu K, van den Abeele AM, Gomes Pimenta de Matos AF, Fernandez Mendez S, Vergara Gomez A, Tomic V, Sifrer F, Villarreal Tello E, Ruiz Ramos J, Aragao I, Santos C, Sperning RHM, Coppadoro P, Nardi G, Brun-Buisson C, Bonten MJM. Decontamination Strategies and Bloodstream Infections With Antibiotic-Resistant Microorganisms in Ventilated Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2018 Nov 27;320(20):2087-2098. doi: 10.1001/jama.2018.13765.

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