Antiseptic effectiveness with fibroblast preservation.

The efficacy of topical antiseptic therapy for wounds and skin ulcers has been shown to be at the expense of fibroblast and leukocyte function and, in general, wound healing. Specifically, continued fibroblast function after exposure to antiseptics has been correlated to the concentration of the antiseptic. At concentrations that preserve fibroblast function, 0.005% sodium hypochlorite, 0.001% providone-iodine, 0.0025% acetic acid, and 0.003% hydrogen peroxide were tested for their effectiveness against various clinical isolates. Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Group D enterococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Bacteroides fragilis were exposed to the antiseptics and plated in a standard microbiological fashion. The cultures showed that sodium hypochlorite inhibited the growth of all the bacteria (p less than 0.001), whereas povidone-iodine reduced the colonies of S. aureus and acetic acid inhibited P. aeruginosa. Our study suggests that 0.005% sodium hypochlorite can be used as a debriding and topical antibacterial agent for wounds and skin ulcers without inhibiting fibroblast activity essential to normal wound repair.