Disposable diapers decrease the incidence of neonatal infections compared to cloth diapers in a level II neonatal intensive care unit.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To study whether disposable diapers decrease the incidence of neonatal infections compared with cloth diapers in a level II neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

METHOD AND MATERIAL:

All neonates admitted to the NICU and having duration of stay >48 h were enrolled. Those babies with signs and symptoms of infection were screened with septic screen and/or blood culture.

RESULTS:

The primary outcome of the study was incidence of probable sepsis. Of 253 babies enrolled in the study period, probable sepsis was present in 101 (39.9%) infants in the total study group and was higher in cloth diaper group as compared with disposable diaper group (p = 0.01). For an average NICU stay of 6 days, cloth diapers would cost Rs. 241 vs. Rs. 162 for disposable diaper for any infant.

CONCLUSION:

Usage of disposable diapers decrease the incidence of probable sepsis in babies admitted to NICU. It is also cost effective to use disposable diapers in the NICU.

• Authors: M Chowdary Babu, Baswaraj Tandur, Deepak Sharma, Srinivas Murki
• Journal: Journal of tropical pediatrics (J Trop Pediatr) Vol. 61 Issue 4 Pg. 250-4 (Aug 2015) ISSN: 1465-3664 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 25833094 (Publication Type: Evaluation Study, Journal Article)
• Copyright: © The Author [2015]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected].

Topics

• Clothing
• Communicable Diseases (epidemiology)
• Cross Infection (epidemiology, prevention & control)
• Diaper Rash (epidemiology, prevention & control)
• Diapers, Infant (economics, statistics & numerical data)
• Female
• Humans
• Incidence
• India (epidemiology)
• Infant
• Infant Care
• Infant, Newborn
• Intensive Care Units, Neonatal
• Male
• Prospective Studies
• Sepsis (epidemiology, prevention & control)
• Urban Population