Selective Decontamination of the Digestive Tract in Intensive Care Unit Patients
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2021-12-31
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Introduction- Hospital acquired infections (HAI) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality
and increase health care costs. Critically ill patients are particularly susceptible to these
infections and have an even higher mortality. One intervention that has gained much interest
in the medical literature for reducing infection rates and deaths from HAIs is selective
decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD). SDD involves the application of antibiotic
paste to the mouth, throat, stomach and a short course of intravenous antibiotics. The
evidence supporting the use of SDD for saving lives and preventing infections is actually
quite strong. However, health care professionals in many parts of the world have refrained
from using SDD due to fears of the effects of overuse of antibiotics on the frequency of
infections with resistant bacteria such as multi-resistant Gram negative organisms, MRSA and
Clostridium difficile.
SuDDICU is a cross-over, cluster randomised trial comparing the effect of using selective
decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) plus standard care, to standard care alone on
hospital mortality in patients receiving mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit
(ICU).
Secondary outcomes include an ecological assessment and a long-term health economic analysis.
Phase:
Phase 3
Details
Lead Sponsor:
The George Institute
Collaborators:
Imperial College London Medical Research Institute of New Zealand Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre