title: [Umbilical colonization in normal newborns. A comparative study of 4 methods for umbilical antisepsis].
abstract: We report the results of a prospective study in which the effectiveness of 70% alcohol (A), mercurochrome (M), a solution of alcohol and mercurochrome (AM) and 1% chlorhexidine (C) as umbilical antiseptics was tested on 311 normal newborn infants. Similar results were obtained by using A, M, or AM; however, when C was used umbilical colonization was significantly reduced as compared to when the other three antiseptic agents were used. The umbilical cords that had been scrubbed with A, M or AM were detached by the 8th day after birth, whereas those treated with C took 14 days to fall off. The use of chlorhexidine resulted in a marked increase in pure cultures positive for Gram negative bacteria (Proteus spp. and Pseudomonas spp.) which was not the case with the other three antiseptics tested.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neonatología, Hospital Universitario Materno-Infantil Vall d'Hebrón, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Perapoch López
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salcedo Abizanda
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gallart Catalá
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Peguero Monforte
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Casellas Caro
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barroso Pérez
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fernández Pérez
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rodríguez Garrido
mesh_terms: D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000985:Antisepsis / Q000379:methods*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014472:Umbilicus / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local
vernacular_title: Colonización umbilical en recién nacidos normales. Estudio comparativo de cuatro métodos de antisepsia umbilical.