Skin disinfection
Use of medical disinfectants to prevent skin infections
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Skin disinfection is a process that involves the application of a disinfectant to reduce levels of microorganisms on the skin.[1] Disinfecting the skin of the patient and the hands of the healthcare providers are an important part of surgery.[1]
Skin disinfection may be accomplished with a number of solutions including povidone-iodine, chlorhexidine, alcohol based solutions, and cetrimide.[2] There is strong evidence that chlorhexidine and denatured alcohol use to clean skin prior to surgery is better than any other commercially available antiseptic, such as povidone-iodine with alcohol.[3][4]. Moreover, there appears to be a dose-response relationship whereby the concentration of CHX or PVI is related to the risk of infection.[5]
Its importance in health care was determined by Semmelweis in the 1840s.[6]