Chlorhexidine better than triclosan for skin prep

Editor's Note

Chlorhexidine is the best antiseptic for skin prep when a prolonged effect is needed, such as when implanting medical devices or performing surgical procedures, this study finds.

Of 135 healthy volunteers tested, at 24 hours:

• unscrubbed control bacterial counts were 288 CFU/cm²
• scrubbed control counts were 96 CFU/cm²
• chlorhexidine scrubbed counts were 24 CFU/cm²
• triclosan scrubbed counts were 96 CFU/cm². 

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