Octenidine or Sterile Water Cleansing and Late-Onset Sepsis in Neonates in the NICU: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Summary

Single-centre, open-label randomised clinical trial in level II and III NICUs in India comparing once-daily full-body cleansing with octenidine wipes versus sterile water in 530 neonates admitted within 48 hours of birth. The primary outcome was late-onset sepsis through 28 days; secondary outcomes included mortality, length of stay and adverse skin reactions assessed with the Neonatal Skin Condition Score. Octenidine cleansing did not reduce late-onset sepsis compared with sterile water, and skin reaction rates were similar. The authors suggest infection prevention should rely on multimodal strategies rather than skin cleansing alone.

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