Chlorhexidine versus sterile water vaginal wash during labor to prevent peripartum infection.

OBJECTIVE

Our purpose was to determine whether a dilute solution of chlorhexidine used as a one-time vaginal wash intrapartum can reduce the incidence of intraamniotic infection or endometritis in laboring pregnant women.

STUDY

DESIGN

Term pregnant women in labor were prospectively randomized to receive either 20 ml of 0.4% chlorhexidine (n = 481) or 20 ml of sterile water (n = 466) placebo. All patients were monitored for risk factors associated with intraamniotic infection. Continuous variables were compared with the Mann-Whitney U test and discrete variables were compared with Fisher's exact test.

RESULTS

No significant differences in infection were found between the chlorhexidine and placebo groups. During the study period 21 of 466 women (4.5%) had intraamniotic infection in the control group compared with 25 of 481 women (5.2%) receiving chlorhexidine (p = 0.65, 95% confidence interval 0.82 to 1.41). Nine women in the placebo group (1.9%) and 9 women in the chlorhexidine group (1.9%) had endometritis (p = 1.0, 95% confidence interval 0.62 to 1.56).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that a one-time 0.4% chlorhexidine vaginal wash does not decrease the incidence of infectious morbidity in parturients, compared with the use of sterile water.