Reuters Reports on Use of Chlorhexidine Products, Industry Ties Related to Infection Control Science

The news service Reuters is reporting on relationships between industry and researchers in the infection control space, relating to ties that "have helped propel the popularity of chlorhexidine products in hospitals and other healthcare settings where drug-resistant superbugs are a chronic problem," the article says. The authors of the investigative piece continue, "In 2014, 63 percent of hospitals surveyed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said they routinely bathed patients with chlorhexidine. But as use of chlorhexidine products has grown, so have concerns about their effectiveness and safety - and about the role of industry-backed research in promoting them. The industry money funding chlorhexidine research muddies the message of the results, in the view of many health experts."