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.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.