• Linda K M Olson, Dan J Morse, Collette Duley, and Brenon K Savell.
• 3M Infection Prevention Division, 3M Corporation, St Paul, MN, USA. lkolson2@mmm.com
• Am J Infect Control. 2012 Mar 1; 40 (2): 155-9.

BackgroundThis study aimed to demonstrate the value of adding an active level of a persistent antimicrobial agent, such as chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG), to an alcohol-based surgical hand antiseptic.MethodsThe persistence of 3 waterless, brushless alcohol-based surgical hand antiseptics, including one product containing CHG, was compared. The test products were applied a total of 12 times over 5 days. Samples of aerobic bacteria were collected on days 1 and 5, on both days immediately after drying and 6 hours later, using the glove juice technique. Relative suppression of regrowth was compared using t tests.ResultsUsing an equivalence margin of 20%, the alcohol plus CHG product showed noninferiority to the alcohol-only products at all sampling points and, based on significantly lower bacterial regrowth (P = .026), superior persistence to the alcohol-only products after 6 hours of glove wear.ConclusionsGiven the primary objective of surgical hand antisepsis of reducing resident skin flora for the duration of the surgical procedure, using an alcohol-based hand antiseptic containing CHG appears to be the most appropriate choice for maintaining microbial levels as low as possible for as long as possible.Copyright © 2012 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

31 keywords...

hide…