title: Effectiveness of septisol antiseptic foam as a surgical scrub agent.
abstract: Septisol antiseptic foam (0.23% hexachlorophene in a 46% ethyl alcohol base) is a new surgical scrub agent for both primary and re-entry use that is designed to minimize the harsh effects to the skin of the conventional scrub while retaining effective antibacterial properties. A preliminary surgical scrub study of 1-week duration yielded an immediate reduction in resident flora of 92% from an average single scrub coupled with a residual bacteriostatic effect from repeated use that gave a plateau at 57% of the pretest resident population level. A separate study demonstrated complete elimination of both gram-positive and gram-negative transients from the skin with a single application of the product. In an 8-week surgical scrub study, equal effectiveness was shown between Septisol antiseptic foam and a standard 3% hexachlorophene detergent. However, Septisol antiseptic foam offers considerable advantage in minimizing the harsh effects to the skin of the conventional surgical scrub and results in a substantially lower hemic level of hexachlorophene in the user than that obtained with 3% hexachlorophene detergent. Sampling was conducted by the fingerprint impression plate technique of Gale.
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003470:Culture Media; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D006582:Hexachlorophene / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D008722:Methods; D008837:Micrococcus / Q000187:drug effects; D012867:Skin / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology*; D012915:Soaps; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D003470:Culture Media; D012915:Soaps; D006582:Hexachlorophene