[Surgical team satisfaction levels between two preoperative hand-washing methods]

Area of Science:

• Surgical hygiene and infection control
• Antiseptic efficacy and safety

Background:

• Advancements in surgical scrub antiseptics offer alternatives to traditional brushing techniques.
• A novel antiseptic combines 1% chlorhexidine gluconate (CGEA) and 61% ethyl alcohol, potentially reducing skin sensitization, costs, and water consumption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the brush-free CGEA surgical scrub with the traditional brushing method.
• Evaluation focused on surgical team satisfaction, hand-washing duration, skin safety, economic costs, and water usage.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study involving 400 surgical team members across 100 surgeries.
• Data collected included satisfaction surveys, hand-washing times, incidence of skin disorders, and glove-related issues.
• Microbial hand cultures, water consumption, total costs, and wound infection rates were analyzed.

Main Results:

• The CGEA group reported higher satisfaction (9.5 vs. 9.1) and significantly shorter washing times (2.0 vs. 3.9 minutes) compared to the traditional group.
• Fewer instances of dry skin were observed in the CGEA group (2% vs. 6.5%).
• While not statistically significant, the CGEA group showed a trend towards lower positive hand cultures (12.5% vs. 25%); wound infection rates were 3% in both groups. Water usage and costs were lower with CGEA.

Conclusions:

• The brush-free surgical scrub using chlorhexidine gluconate and ethyl alcohol (CGEA) demonstrates comparable efficacy to the traditional method.
• The CGEA technique offers significant advantages, including reduced washing time, decreased incidence of dry skin, lower costs, and substantial water savings.