Prevention of postextraction bacteremia by local prophylaxis.

Four local prophylactic methods were studied in the prevention of postextraction bacteremia: 1) mouth rinsing with 1% iodine solution, postoperative bacteremia frequency 55%, 2) operative field isolation with cotton rolls and saliva ejector, bacteremia frequency 34%, 3) operative field isolation and disinfection with 10% iodine solution, bacteremia frequency 32%, 4) operative field isolation and disinfection with 0.5% chlorhexidine solution, bacteremia frequency 13%. The operative field isolation together with local disinfection with chlorhexidine was recommended for routine practice. However, when dealing with known or suspected risk group patients, a combined systemic and local prophylactic method was strongly recommended, as this was found in previous investigation to be the most effective method for reducing the frequency of bacteremia.