title: A prospective randomised trial to compare the efficacy of povidone-iodine 10% and chlorhexidine 2% for skin disinfection.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Infectious complications of invasive procedures affect patient outcomes adversely. Choice of antiseptic solution at the time of insertion is one of the major factors affecting their incidence.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study was undertaken to compare efficacy of chlorhexidine 2% and povidone iodine 10% for skin disinfection prior to placement of epidural and central venous catheters (CVCs).
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective randomised trial in the operating rooms of a tertiary referral cancer centre.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty consecutive adult patients undergoing elective oncosurgery requiring placement of epidural and CVCs were enrolled. Paired skin swabs were collected before and after application of the antiseptic solution. The samples were incubated in McConkey's media and blood agar at 35°C for up to 24 h. Any bacterial growth was graded as: <10 colonies - poor growth, 10-50 colonies - moderate growth and >50 colonies as heavy growth. Data on demographics and antibiotic prophylaxis and costs was collected for all patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Student's t-test and Mann-Whitney tests were used to analyse data, P<0.05 was considered significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Demographics and antibiotic prophylaxis use was similar in both groups. Before application of antiseptic solution, a variety of micro-organisms were grown from most patients with growth ranging from none-heavy. No organism was grown after application of either antiseptic solution from any patient.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found no differences between 2% chlorhexidine and 10% povidone-iodine for skin disinfection in regard to costs, efficacy or side-effects.
authors: Department of Anaesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
authors: Atul P
authors: AP
authors: Kulkarni
authors: Rishikesh M
authors: RM
authors: Awode
keywords: Antisepsis; chlorhexidine; povidone-iodine
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