NEWBORN DEATHS CUT BY CLEANING UMBILICAL STUMP WITH CHLORHEXIDINE

摘要

Infection accounts for almost one-third of neonatal mortality worldwide; affordable, feasible and effective interventions to improve survival are urgently needed. A useful agent is ohlorhexidine, a topical antiseptic that is active against aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms. According to results of a systematic review by the Cochrane Collaboration (online, 5 March 2015), ohlorhexidine applied to the umbilical cord of newborns reduced the risk of omphalitis (infection of the umbilical stump) by 50% and neonatal mortality by 12%. By contrast, maternal vaginal application of ohlorhexidine did not reduce infection risk compared with usual care.