Comparison of global decolonization efficacy with mupirocin nasal drop and chlorhexidine mouthwash in acute leukemia patients: randomized clinical trial

Purpose Neutropenic fever remains a major complication in acute leukemia. Decolonization is assumed as a promising intervention for eradicating causative agents of infection. Methods In this randomized clinical trial, 96 patients with acute leukemia were assigned randomly to mupirocin nasal drop 2% ( n = 32), chlorhexidine mouthwash 0.2% ( n = 33), and control group ( n = 31). In control group, patients did not receive any medication for decolonization. All patients received treatment for 5 days (2 days prior to chemotherapy until 3 days after chemotherapy). Pharynx and nasal swabs were taken prior to the intervention and at the end of decolonization period in all groups. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed by the disc diffusion method in order to identify bacterial isolates. Results Bacterial recovery of both nasal and pharynx swabs was observed after global decolonization with mupirocin nasal drop. Decolonization with mupirocin significantly eradicated Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CONS) in both nasal and pharynx swabs ( p -value = 0.000). Moreover, mupirocin decreased Pseudomonas aeruginosa and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) species. Chlorhexidine mouthwash significantly eradicated CONS in pharynx swabs ( p -value = 0.000). In addition, both decolonization strategies decreased both antibiotic use and frequency of fever in leukemic patients. Conclusion Global decolonization with mupirocin nasal drop not only eradicates both nasal and pharynx microorganisms, but also reduces antibiotic requirement and frequency of fever in patients with acute leukemia. The protocol of the present study was approved on December 2016 (registry number: IRCT20160310026998N6).