Selective decontamination of the digestive tract in the intensive care unit

There is a general consensus about the efficacy of selective decontamination in diminishing microbial carriage and acquired infection rates, although conclusions about benefits related to mortality rates vary.

Abstract

There is a general consensus about the efficacy of selective decontamination in diminishing microbial carriage and acquired infection rates, although conclusions about benefits related to mortality rates vary. Differences in mortality rate are found in the selective decontamination studies of patients with curable diseases, including multitrauma and cardiovascular patients. More data on resistance, collected over a longer period of time, are needed. Practical problems of blinding and the major ecological effect of selective decontamination may explain the lack of a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial.