Active Bathing to Eliminate Infection (ABATE Infection) Trial (ABATE)
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The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details. |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02063867 |
Recruitment Status :
Completed
First Posted : February 14, 2014
Results First Posted : July 12, 2019
Last Update Posted : July 12, 2019
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The ABATE Infection Project is a cluster randomized trial of hospitals to compare two quality improvement strategies to reduce multi-drug resistant organisms and healthcare-associated infections in non-critical care units. The two strategies to be evaluated are:
- Arm 1: Routine Care Routine policy for showering/bathing
- Arm 2: Decolonization Use of chlorhexidine as routine soap for showering or bed bathing for all patients Mupirocin x 5 days if MRSA+ by history, culture, or screen
Note that enrolled "subjects" represents 53 individual HCA Hospitals (representing ~190 non-critical care units) that have been randomized.
Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment | Phase |
---|---|---|
Healthcare Associated Infections Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Multi Drug Resistant Organisms | Drug: Arm 2: Decolonization | Not Applicable |
Study Type : | Interventional (Clinical Trial) |
Actual Enrollment : | 53 participants |
Allocation: | Randomized |
Intervention Model: | Parallel Assignment |
Masking: | None (Open Label) |
Primary Purpose: | Health Services Research |
Official Title: | Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial of Hospitals to Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections and Readmissions Through Routine Bathing With Antiseptic Soap and Targeted Use of Nasal Antibiotic Ointment (ABATE Infection Trial) |
Study Start Date : | April 2014 |
Actual Primary Completion Date : | February 2019 |
Actual Study Completion Date : | February 2019 |

Arm | Intervention/treatment |
---|---|
No Intervention: Arm 1: Usual Care
Routine policy for showering or bathing non-critical care patients
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Active Comparator: Arm 2: Decolonization
Daily chlorhexidine (CHG) shower or CHG cloth bath for all non-critical care patients. Topical intranasal mupirocin ointment (bilateral nares, twice daily) x5 days if non-critical care patients are MRSA+ by history, culture, or screen. |
Drug: Arm 2: Decolonization
Daily chlorhexidine (CHG) shower or CHG cloth bath for all non-critical care patients. Topical intranasal mupirocin ointment (bilateral nares, twice daily) x5 days if non-critical care patients are MRSA+ by history, culture, or screen. |
- MRSA and VRE Clinical Cultures [ Time Frame: 21 months ]Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) clinical cultures attributable to participating units. Defined as occurring >2 days into a participating unit stay through 2 days following unit discharge
- Gram-negative Multi-drug Resistant Organism Clinical Cultures [ Time Frame: 21 months ]Gram-negative (GN) multi-drug resistant organism clinical cultures attributable to participating units. Defined as occurring >2 days into a participating unit stay through 2 days following unit discharge
- All-cause Bloodstream Infections [ Time Frame: 21 months ]All-cause bloodstream infections attributable to participating units. Defined as occurring >2 days into a participating unit stay through 2 days following unit discharge. Includes bacterial and yeast pathogens. Skin commensals require two positive blood cultures.
- Urinary Tract Infections [ Time Frame: 21 months ]Urinary tract infections attributable to participating units. Defined as occurring >2 days into a participating unit stay through 2 days following unit discharge
- Blood Culture Contamination [ Time Frame: 21 months ]Blood culture contamination
- Clostridium Difficile Infection [ Time Frame: 21 months ]Clostridium difficile Infection attributable to participating units
- 30-Day Infectious Readmissions [ Time Frame: 21 months ]30-Day Infectious Readmissions among patients in participating units
- Emergence of Resistance to Chlorhexidine or Mupirocin [ Time Frame: 21 months ]Emergence of resistance to chlorhexidine (among MRSA and select gram-negative bacteria) or mupirocin (among MRSA) for strains isolated from participating units
- Cost Effectiveness [ Time Frame: 21 months ]Cost effectiveness of routine care vs decolonization

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
Ages Eligible for Study: | 12 Years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Inclusion Criteria:
- All HCA hospitals that reside in the United States
- Note: Unit of randomization is the hospital, but the participants are hospital units
Exclusion Criteria:
- Non-critical care units where chlorhexidine bathing or decolonization for MRSA+ non-critical care patients is routine
- Pediatric, peri-partum, rehabilitation, psychiatry, and BMT units
- Units with >30% cardiac or hip/knee orthopedic surgeries
- Unit average length of stay <2 days
- Patients <12 years-old
- Patients with known allergy to mupirocin or chlorhexidine

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT02063867

Principal Investigator: | Susan Huang, MD MPH | University of California, Irvine | |
Study Director: | Ken Kleinman, ScD | University of Massachusetts, Amherst | |
Study Director: | Edward Septimus, MD | Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) | |
Study Director: | Jason Hickok, MBA, RN | Hospital Corporation of America | |
Study Director: | Julia Moody, MS | Hospital Corporation of America | |
Study Director: | Mary Hayden, MD | Rush University | |
Study Director: | Robert Weinstein, MD | John Stroger Hospital | |
Study Director: | John Jernigan, MD MS | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | |
Study Director: | Jonathan Perlin, MD PhD | Hospital Corporation of America | |
Study Director: | Daniel Gillen, PhD | University of California, Irvine | |
Study Director: | Grace Lee, MD MPH | Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute |
Documents provided by Susan Huang, University of California, Irvine:
Responsible Party: | Susan Huang, Associate Professor and Medical Director of Epidemiology and Infection Prevention, University of California, Irvine |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT02063867 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
367981 UH2AT007769 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract ) UH3AI113337 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract ) |
First Posted: | February 14, 2014 Key Record Dates |
Results First Posted: | July 12, 2019 |
Last Update Posted: | July 12, 2019 |
Last Verified: | June 2019 |
HAI MRSA VRE |
Infections Communicable Diseases Cross Infection |
Disease Attributes Pathologic Processes Iatrogenic Disease |