Extended Barrier Precautions vs Hand Hygiene Alone and Neonatal Sepsis in Intensive Care Patients

Is standard hand hygiene disinfection noninferior to extended barrier precautions (gloves and gown) for the routine care of neonates colonized with third-generation cephalosporins–resistant gram-negative bacteria in neonatal intensive care units?In this cluster-randomized crossover clinical trial including 12 sites and 9731 infants, standard hand hygiene was noninferior to extended barrier precautions with regard to infection rates with gram-negative bacteria and transmission events in neonatal units.These findings support a shift toward more targeted, evidence-based practices for infection control, allowing resources to be focused where they are most effective.

Corresponding Author: Christoph Härtel, MD, Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Strasse 2, D-97080 Würzburg, Germany (haertel_c1@ukw.de).

Link to the article in your story

We encourage you to link out to this article in your story using the link below. It includes an access token that will give free access to the article for your readers up to one year after publication. (The link will be live after the article publishes and embargo is lifted.)

Please see the article for additional information, including full author list, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Need more information? Contact us.