Surgeons Test Different Skin Antiseptics for Infection Prevention
A large study of over 1,600 patients undergoing surgery to treat an open fracture, has found that orthopedic surgeons’ choice of antiseptic skin preparation solution does not impact the risk of surgical site infection.
Patients randomized to receive aqueous 10% povidone-iodine or aqueous 4% chlorhexidine gluconate for skin antisepsis experienced similar rates of postoperative surgical site infections and unplanned reoperations.
The study, published in The Lancet, was jointly led by researchers at the McMaster University Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
The authors conclude that orthopedic surgeons may select either aqueous 10% povidone-iodine or aqueous 4% chlorhexidine gluconate antiseptic preparation solutions based on solution availability, patient contraindications, or product cost. They add the findings might also have implications for the antisepsis of other traumatic wounds.
This trial was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, McMaster University Surgical Associates, and the PSI Foundation. (SM/Newswise)