Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Oct;36(10):1011-1013.
doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000001617.

Impact of Chlorhexidine Cord Cleansing on Mortality, Omphalitis and Cord Separation Time Among Facility-Born Babies in Nepal and Bangladesh

Luke C Mullany  1 , Shams El Arifeen, Subarna K Khatry, Joanne Katz, Rashed Shah, Abdullah H Baqui, James M Tielsch
Affiliations

Impact of Chlorhexidine Cord Cleansing on Mortality, Omphalitis and Cord Separation Time Among Facility-Born Babies in Nepal and Bangladesh

Luke C Mullany et al. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2017 Oct.

Abstract

Guidance is needed regarding potential extension of the World Health Organization recommendation for cord cleansing with chlorhexidine to babies born in facilities. Among 3223 facility-born babies from Nepal and Bangladesh, mortality was approximately halved among those allocated to the intervention clusters [10.5/1000 vs. 19.4/1000; relative risk (RR): 0.54; 95% confidence interval: 0.30-0.97]. In high-mortality settings, a single policy for home and facility births is warranted.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. World Health Organization. WHO Recommendations on Postnatal Care of the Mother and Newborn. 2013 http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/97603/1/9789241506649_eng.pdf. - PubMed
    1. Mullany LC, Darmstadt GL, Khatry SK, et al. Topical applications of chlorhexidine to the umbilical cord for prevention of omphalitis and neonatal mortality in southern Nepal: A community-based, cluster-randomised trial. Lancet. 2006;367(9514):910–918. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arifeen SE, Mullany LC, Shah R, et al. The effect of cord cleansing with chlorhexidine on neonatal mortality in rural Bangladesh: A community-based, cluster-randomised trial. Lancet. 2012;379(9820):1022–1028. - PubMed
    1. Soofi S, Cousens S, Imdad A, et al. Topical application of chlorhexidine to neonatal umbilical cords for prevention of omphalitis and neonatal mortality in a rural district of Pakistan: a community-based, cluster-randomised trial. Lancet. 2012;379(9820):1029–1036. - PubMed
    1. Semrau KE, Herlihy J, Grogan C, et al. Effectiveness of 4% chlorhexidine umbilical cord care on neonatal mortality in Southern Province, Zambia (ZamCAT): a cluster-randomised controlled trial. Lancet Glob Health. 2016 Nov;4(11):e827–e836. - PubMed