Evidence for using chlorhexidine gluconate preoperative cleansing to reduce the risk of surgical site infection.

Surgical site infections are associated with significant patient morbidity and mortality and are the third most frequently reported health care-associated infection. A suggested risk reduction strategy has been the preadmission shower or skin cleansing with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG). Although older clinical trials question the clinical efficacy of cleansing with CHG, recent evidence-based scientific and clinical studies support two types of CHG application (ie, a 2% CHG-coated cloth or 4% CHG soap) using a standardized, timed process before hospital admission as an effective strategy for reducing the risk of postoperative surgical site infection.