Extensive pre-operative shaving: a costly exercise.
We studied the effect of pre-operative shaving on clean operation wound infection rates. The patients of a general surgeon were used in this study. There was a clean wound infection rate of 2.9% when routine extensive pre-operative shaving was used, and 1.5% during a period when shaving was not used. Other surgeons' patients who were nursed under matched conditions had clean wound infection rates of 2.7% and 1.3% respectively during these periods. We suggest that no advantage in shaving patients can be demonstrated in terms of wound infection rates.
D005260:Female; D006204:Hair Removal / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000191:economics*; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*