Persistence of Antimicrobial Effect of Antiseptics in Surgical Hand Hygiene Regimens
Wilai Noparat MSc*, Kanokrat Siripanichakorn MD** , Chanwit Tribuddharat PhD***, Somwang Danchaivijitr MD****
Affiliation : *Camillion Hospital, Bangkok, **Department of Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, ***Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, ****Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok
Objectives : To determine the persistence of antimicrobial effect of antiseptic solutions used in surgical hand
hygiene procedure, and the in-house preparation was compared to the commercial solution for its efficacy.
Materials and Methods : The present study was performed in a 150-bed hospital involving 19 staff from general,
orthopedics, KUB, and OB-GYN surgical teams in 48 operations. The antimicrobial effects from 4 different
solutions were determined and compared.
Results : The study showed that the commercial alcohol-based antiseptic solution was equally or more effec-
tive than long-time accepted povidone-iodine or chlorhexidine gluconate solutions and had better persistent
effect. The in-house preparation was effective comparable to the commercial solution.
Conclusion : The commercial alcohol-based antiseptic solution had better persistence of antimicrobial effects
compared to the in-house alcohol-based hand rub, povidone iodine and chlorhexidine gluconate.
Keywords : Persistence effect, Antimicrobial, Antiseptics, Surgical hand hygiene
