Prevention of Recurrent Infections Caused by Community Acquired Staphylococcus Aureus (CA-SA) in Children

September 19, 2016 updated by: Sheldon Kaplan, Baylor College of Medicine

Prevention of Recurrent Infections Caused by Community-Acquired Staphylococcus in Children 3 Months to 18 Years

The primary purpose of this study is to determine if adding bleach baths to routine ways for prevention of Staph infections is helpful. The amount added is a very weak amount. This would provide a relatively inexpensive method to help prevent recurrent skin infections caused by the Staph germ. The investigators will also be studying how often Staphylococcus aureus lives in the nose, throat, and groin area.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

In many areas of the United States, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is now an established community pathogen (CA-MRSA). At Texas Children's Hospital (TCH), about 75% of S. aureus isolates recovered from healthy children with infections are CA-MRSA and > 90% of the CA-MRSA isolates are related to one clone, USA300, which also predominates throughout the U.S. From 8/05 to 7/06, 1400 children with CA-MRSA infection were seen at TCH; 60% were admitted to the hospital. Why the USA300 clone is so successful in spreading throughout the community is unclear, but it does harbor a unique set of genes not found in other S. aureus clones. The anterior nose in the most common area of the body colonized with S. aureus but it is not known if this is the primary site for colonization by CA-MRSA USA300 clone.

Approximately 3.5% of children at TCH have a proven recurrence of S. aureus infection within 12 months; we believe this is a minimal estimate and that overall at least 10% of children have recurrences. There is no consensus on the best strategies for preventing recurrent S. aureus infections or spread of S. aureus among family members. At TCH, in addition to routine preventative measures, we often recommend for the patients to take a bath at least twice a week in water to which one teaspoon of household bleach (Clorox) has been added per gallon of water. Anecdotally this approach has decreased the recurrence rate of S. aureus infections, but this common strategy among dermatologists has not been formally evaluated and is thus controversial.

Objectives

The primary objective is to test the hypothesis that in children who have a community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus (CA-SA) infection, sodium hypochlorite baths (Clorox) are a safe and effective component of a prevention strategy that will reduce recurrent medically attended skin and soft tissue infection (MA-SSI).

Specific Aims

  1. Determine the recurrence rate (over a 12 month period) of medically attended skin and soft tissue infection visits in children initially evaluated in the TCH Emergency Center for whom a 3 month prevention strategy includes taking a bath twice a week in water to which sodium hypochlorite (Clorox) has been added and the recurrence rate in children for whom a similar prevention strategy has been recommended but without the bath component.
  2. Determine the recurrence rate (over a 12 month period) of skin and soft tissue infection caused by CA-S. aureus in children for whom a 3-month prevention strategy includes taking a bath twice a week in water to which sodium hypochlorite (Clorox) has been added and the recurrence rate in children for whom a similar prevention strategy has been recommended but without the bath component.
  3. Determine the + rates of S. aureus colonization of the anterior nares, pharynx, and groin for children being evaluated in the emergency center of Texas Children's Hospital (TCH) or admitted to TCH with suspected S. aureus infections.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

987

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • Baylor College of Medicine
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • Texas Children's Hospital

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

Ages Eligible for Study

3 months to 18 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Otherwise healthy children 3 months to 18 years seen in the emergency center of Texas Children's Hospital with suspected CA-S. aureus infections
  • Have a lesion which can be cultured (abscess or cellulitis with drainage, invasive infections)
  • Can be evaluated and treated in the emergency center and be followed as outpatients
  • Can be admitted to the hospital

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Children less than 3 months old or greater than 18 years
  • Immune deficiency or underlying condition other than reactive airway disease or simple eczema which is not being followed by a dermatologist
  • Patient has a history of 2 or more previous skin or soft tissue infections
  • Children with one previous episode whose family may have already employed the sodium hypochlorite baths
  • Families without a bathtub or running water
  • Families without a phone or primary care physician
  • Families unable or unwilling to comply with the prevention measures
  • Hypersensitivity to sodium hypochlorite

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Routine Measures
Procedure: Routine Measures Group
Cultures will be obtained from the anterior nares of the nose, the throat and the groin using separate culturette swabs. S. aureus isolates will be identified and antibiotic susceptibility determined. Isolates will subsequently undergo testing for susceptibility to methicillin to determine if the isolate is an MSSA or MRSA strain. All patients and parents will be instructed orally and provided written instructions about routine measures employed for the prevention of S. aureus skin infections. Please see supplemental material from the publication Randomized Trial of "Bleach Baths" plus Routine Hygienic Measures vs Routine Hygienic Measures Alone for Prevention of Recurrent Infections Clinical Infectious Diseases 2014;58:679-682 for the details regarding routine measures.
Other Names:
  • Prevention of Infections Caused by CA-SA in Children.
Experimental: Bleach Baths
Procedure: Bleach Bath Group (Bleach plus routine measures)
Cultures will be obtained from the anterior nares of the nose, the throat and the groin using culturette swabs. S. aureus isolates will be identified and antibiotic susceptibility determined. Isolates will subsequently undergo testing for susceptibility to methicillin to determine if the isolate is an MSSA or MRSA strain. Patients and parents will be instructed orally and provided written instructions about routine measures employed for the prevention of S. aureus skin infections. Patients will be given further oral and written instructions regarding clorox baths. Please see supplemental material from the publication Randomized Trial of "Bleach Baths" plus Routine Hygienic Measures vs Routine Hygienic Measures Alone for Prevention of Recurrent Infections Clinical Infectious Diseases 2014;58:679-682 for the details regarding instructions for bleach baths.
Other Names:
  • Clorox Baths

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Medically Attended Skin and Soft Tissue Infections (MA-SSI)
Time Frame: From time of enrollment until the first MA-SSI or 12 months following enrollment, whichever came first.
Medically attended skin and soft tissue infections (MA-SSI) which is defined as a skin or soft tissue infection that has been evaluated and treated by a medical professional in an office, clinic, urgent care or emergency center setting.
From time of enrollment until the first MA-SSI or 12 months following enrollment, whichever came first.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Baylor College of Medicine

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Sheldon L Kaplan, MD, Baylor College of Medicine

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

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

June 1, 2009

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 11, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 12, 2009

First Posted (Estimate)

May 13, 2009

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

November 6, 2016

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 19, 2016

Last Verified

September 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Thrasher21631

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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