Skin Disinfection Paper

541 Words2 Pages

preparation or iodine (Kapadia et al., 2013). It is reasonable to expect the same results favoring the use of chlorhexidine as an enhanced, if not a more effective skin disinfection if patients were followed and assessed over a 6-month period post-surgery. Following patients over a 6-month period will allow researchers to account for those patients who have had implants placed and assess if slow-developing infections occur due to these implanted devices. However, a more randomized and a larger number of study patients is warranted to eliminate or lessen the effect of biases. Are the skin disinfection steps being performed by patients at home consistent and according to instructions? Is the body site or operative site being prepped adequately …show more content…

Standardizing a two-step, two preoperative showers or baths prior to surgical procedures, whether regular soap or a specially formulated solutions are used during these skin preparation steps, health care providers need to promote and encourage full compliance. Using CHG cloths or solution in lieu of regular soap, based on some studies, can enhance and significantly reduce the incidence of SSIs. Limitations and some level of bias from available research articles notwithstanding, it is a prudent practice recommendation to standardized pre-admission showers or baths with the use CHG-based solutions or cloths for pre-operative skin disinfection and preparation for patients undergoing elective procedures. In addition to respective in-hospital skin preparation protocols, the use of CHG at home prior to procedures can further reduce skin microflora and the risk for developing SSI. Additional practice recommendations for pre-operative nurses is to provide detailed and easy to follow take home instruction packets and arrange for home health visits to assist and ensure preoperative patients complete their skin disinfection process, especially those who have limited support resources at home. Appropriate verbal confirmation between nurses and preoperative patients must occur to establish understanding of all preoperative instructions, including skin

Open Document