Decolonization to Reduce After-Surgery Events of Surgical Site Infection (DECREASE SSI)

July 17, 2026 updated by: Susan Huang, University of California, Irvine
The DECREASE SSI Trial (Decolonization to Reduce After-Surgery Events of Surgical Site Infection) is a two-arm multi-center individual placebo-controlled randomized (2,700 participants randomized 1:1) clinical trial to reduce post-discharge surgical site infection following open colon or small bowel surgery by comparing chlorhexidine bathing plus nasal mupirocin in the 30 days following discharge to soap without antiseptic properties (placebo) and placebo nasal ointment. This trial seeks to enhance the care of the 675,000 patients annually who undergo colon and small bowel surgery by finding simple and efficacious interventions to reduce SSI.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
2700

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Newport Beach, California, United States, 92663
        • Recruiting
        • Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Philip Robinson, MD
        • Contact:
      • Orange, California, United States, 92868
        • Recruiting
        • University of California, Irvine Medical Center
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Susan Huang, MD, MPH
        • Contact:
      • Sacramento, California, United States, 95817
        • Recruiting
        • University of California, Davis Medical Center
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Stuart Cohen, MD
        • Contact:
      • San Francisco, California, United States, 94143
        • Recruiting
        • University of California, San Francisco Medical Center
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Deborah Yokoe, MD, MPH

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18 years of age or older
  • Recent open (not solely laparoscopic) surgery involving an abdominal incision within the past 14 days. For cesarean section, recruitment restricted to BMI ≥ 40.
  • Able to communicate regularly by phone
  • Able to bathe, shower or have this task performed by a caregiver

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Transfer to an acute care hospital
  • Discharged to receive end-of-life hospice measures
  • Discharged more than 14 days after surgery
  • Allergic to mupirocin and/or chlorhexidine

  • Active infection at enrollment*

    *Refers to

    1. Infections requiring systemic antibacterial agents, so viral illness (e.g., COVID, flu) is not an exclusion.
    2. Topical antibacterial agents do not count toward exclusion (e.g., topical products for acne)
    3. Prophylactic antibacterial agents do not count toward exclusion
  • Surgical incision not closed at discharge

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Decolonization
Participants randomized into this arm will perform decolonization using topical antiseptic soap (chlorhexidine body wash) and an antibiotic ointment (nasal mupirocin).
Drug: 4% Chlorhexidine Gluconate
Used for daily showering/bathing for 30 days after hospital discharge.
Drug: 2% Mupirocin
Applied to each nostril twice daily for five days for the first two weeks after hospital discharge.
Placebo Comparator: Routine Care
Participants randomized into this arm will perform routine care using soap without antiseptic properties (placebo) and placebo nasal ointment.
Drug: Soap Without Antiseptic Properties (Placebo)
Used for daily showering/bathing for 30 days after hospital discharge.
Drug: Placebo Nasal Ointment
Applied to each nostril twice daily for five days for the first two weeks after hospital discharge.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Time to First Post-Discharge Surgical Site Infection
Time Frame: Within 30 Days of Hospital Discharge
Within 30 Days of Hospital Discharge

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of California, Irvine

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University of California, Davis
University of California, San Francisco
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Director: Deborah Yokoe, MD, MPH, University of California, San Francisco
  • Study Director: Stuart Cohen, MD, University of California, Davis
  • Principal Investigator: Susan Huang, MD, MPH, University of California, Irvine

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 17, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 15, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 15, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 19, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 21, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 17, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 1304

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

A data request form will be provided to any researcher requesting data from the DECREASE SSI trial This data request form will request the hypothesis/goal of the research, the planned use of the data, and the requested data elements (deidentified only). Any data provided will include the stipulation that use is limited to research purposes only. Requests will not be granted for pursuits directly specified in the grant. If the data request overlaps with additional ongoing post-grant pursuits either by this team or another investigative team that requested the data for a given purpose, a discussion will be pursued toward the potential for joint collaboration.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

3 years from publication

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Pending

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF
  • ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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