title: Effectiveness of standard lavage with supplemental chlorhexidine in patients undergoing chemical matricectomy for ingrown toenails: a clinical trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Phenolization is often used to treat ingrown toenails. Alcohol lavage with or without supplemental chlorhexidine may be used to remove residual phenol, which can contribute to side effects such as persistent oozing or drainage.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We sought to compare the effectiveness in removing residual phenol of lavage with alcohol plus chlorhexidine versus alcohol alone.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 80 patients who underwent unilateral phenol matricectomy: 40 who received irrigation with alcohol alone and 40 who received irrigation with alcohol plus chlorhexidine. Phenol levels were measured after each of 5 rounds of 3-mL irrigations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After the first irrigation, an average of 44.92% and 38.35% of the phenol remained in the nailfold in the alcohol and the alcohol/chlorhexidine groups, respectively (P < .05). After all 5 irrigations, no difference in efficacy between the 2 solutions was found (P > .005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It was not possible to calculate the quantity of phenol initially introduced into the nail bed. The percentage remaining was calculated from the total amount of phenol recovered.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When a single irrigation step is performed after phenolization, alcohol plus chlorhexidine is more effective than alcohol alone for removing residual phenol. When multiple irrigations are performed, the 2 solutions are equally effective.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacia y Tecnología Farmacéutica, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Damian
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cordoba-Diaz
authors.affiliation: Escuela Universitaria de Enfermería, Fisioterapia y Podología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: ribebeva@enf.ucm.es.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Becerro de Bengoa Vallejo
authors.affiliation: Facultad Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Marta Elena
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Losa Iglesias
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacia y Tecnología Farmacéutica, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cordoba-Díaz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002710:Chlorhexidine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009263:Nails, Ingrown / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019800:Phenol / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors; D014034:Toes; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local; D019800:Phenol; D002710:Chlorhexidine
keywords: alcohol; chlorhexidine; ingrown toenail; phenol