Effectiveness of Septisol Antiseptic Foam as a Surgical Scrub Agent

Abstract

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.

Competency assessment for infection control in the undergraduate dental curriculum

“…Recent studies have shown hand hygiene to be the single most critical measure for reducing the risk of transmitting organisms (2) between patients and dental staff and in particular for controlling the spread of multi‐resistant organisms. Clearly, the aim of hand hygiene procedures is to eliminate transient microflora and reduce resident microflora for the duration of the dental procedure as skin bacteria are capable of rapidly multiplying under surgical gloves if hands are not washed thoroughly with antimicrobial soap (18–21). It is therefore imperative for students to learn and adhere to high levels of hand hygiene to avoid the potential of pathogens contaminating the operator's hands during dental procedures or entering the oral cavity through torn gloves.…”

Factors Affecting Performance of Hand Hygiene by Parents of Hospitalized Infants

“…Bacteria on the hands of surgeons can cause wound infections if introduced into the operative field during surgery (232); rapid multiplication of bacteria occurs under surgical gloves if hands are washed with a non-antimicrobial soap. However, bacterial growth is slowed after preoperative scrubbing with an antiseptic agent (14,233). Reducing resident skin flora on the hands of the surgical team for the duration of a procedure reduces the risk of bacteria being released into the surgical field if gloves become punctured or torn during surgery (1,156,169).…”

“…Scrubbing with a disposable sponge or combination sponge-brush has reduced bacterial counts on the hands as effectively as scrubbing with a brush (244)(245)(246). However, several studies indicate that neither a brush nor a sponge is necessary to reduce bacterial counts on the hands of surgical personnel to acceptable levels, especially when alcoholbased products are used (102,117,159,165,233,237,247,248). Several of these studies performed cultures immediately or at 45-60 minutes postscrub (102,117,233,247,248), whereas in other studies, cultures were obtained 3 and 6 hours postscrub (159,237).…”

“…However, several studies indicate that neither a brush nor a sponge is necessary to reduce bacterial counts on the hands of surgical personnel to acceptable levels, especially when alcoholbased products are used (102,117,159,165,233,237,247,248). Several of these studies performed cultures immediately or at 45-60 minutes postscrub (102,117,233,247,248), whereas in other studies, cultures were obtained 3 and 6 hours postscrub (159,237). For example, a recent laboratory-based study using volunteers demonstrated that brushless application of a preparation containing 1% chlorhexidine gluconate plus 61% ethanol yielded lower bacterial counts on the hands of participants than using a sponge/ brush to apply a 4% chlorhexidine-containing detergent preparation (237).…”

Effects of an Antibacterial Soap on the Ecology of Aerobic Bacterial Flora of Human Skin

“…Several methods based on the original observations of Price have been used (4,21,22). Various combinations of methods have been applied to the study of the efficacy of antimicrobials applied to the skin in reducing the aerobic flora (4,5,9,10,18,27). However, these methods have generally involved exaggerated exposure to the antibacterial soaps or surgical scrub products, far beyond that to be expected in normal ad lib use for personal hygiene, and have often ignored the effects on the flora on sites other than hands.…”