Comparison of in-vivo antibacterial activity of two skin disinfection procedures for insertion of peripheral catheters: povidone iodine versus chlorhexidine.

Skin disinfection is a key step in the prevention of nosocomial infections especially prior to invasive procedures such as the insertion of peripheral catheters. Alcohol-based antiseptics improve bactericidal activity and decrease the time needed for skin disinfection in emergencies. A randomized study was performed in two groups of 22 volunteers to compare the in vivo bactericidal effect of two rapid disinfection procedures using povidone iodine (PVP-I) in scrub formulation followed by alcoholic PVP-I, or chlorhexidine in scrub formulation followed by alcoholic chlorhexidine. Bacteria were recovered using the cylinder scrub method. Comparison of reductions in the aerobic and anaerobic flora from baseline levels to each of the three sampling times (30 sec, 3 min, 2 h) showed no significant difference between the two procedures Log(10)reduction after 30 seconds was around 1.5 for the aerobic flora and 1.1 for the anaerobic flora. After 3 minutes the corresponding values were 2.1 and 1.8, and after 2 hours 2.0 and 1.3. The products were well tolerated in both groups. The two procedures had comparable rapid bactericidal activity in vivo. Copyright 2000 The Hospital Infection Society.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes