Strong evidence from a new 6-hospital study could lead many ORs to change their traditional practice for surgical skin preparation. In the first prospective, randomized study to compare the effect of 2 skin prep agents on the incidence of surgical site infections (SSIs) after clean-contaminated surgery, a chlorhexidine (CHG)-alcohol product came out ahead of a povidone-iodine scrub and paint, resulting in an infection rate 41% lower. The report is in the January 7, 2010, New England Journal of Medicine.
For decades, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) have shown their ability…
Once limited to hospital inpatient settings, total joint surgery is…
Editor’s Note: This page is a companion piece to the…