Persistence of antimicrobial effect of antiseptics in surgical hand hygiene regimens.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To determine the persistence of antimicrobial effect of antiseptic solutions used in surgical hand hygiene procedure, and the in-house preparation was compared to the commercial solution for its efficacy. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The present study was performed in a 150-bed hospital involving 19 staff from general, orthopedics, KUB, and OB-GYN surgical teams in 48 operations. The antimicrobial effects from 4 different solutions were determined and compared. RESULTS: The study showed that the commercial alcohol-based antiseptic solution was equally or more effective than long-time accepted povidone-iodine or chlorhexidine gluconate solutions and had better persistent effect. The in-house preparation was effective comparable to the commercial solution. CONCLUSION: The commercial alcohol-based antiseptic solution had better persistence of antimicrobial effects compared to the in-house alcohol-based hand rub, povidone iodine and chlorhexidine gluconate.