A Porcine Model for the Development and Testing of Preoperative Skin Preparations

Hannah R Duffy1,2, Rose W Godfrey1, Dustin L Williams1,2,3,4

  • 1Department of Orthopaedics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.

Microorganisms
|May 28, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Current skin preparation methods fail to eliminate deep skin bacteria, posing an infection risk. A new porcine model effectively demonstrates that standard povidone iodine (PVP-I) and chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) skin preparations do not meet FDA reduction criteria.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Dermatology
  • Infectious Disease

Background:

  • Clinical preoperative skin preparations (PSPs) are essential for reducing surgical site infections.
  • Current PSPs do not effectively eliminate skin flora in deeper dermal layers, leaving a persistent infection risk.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate a porcine skin model for testing the efficacy of preoperative skin preparations (PSPs).
  • To assess the effectiveness of standard povidone iodine (PVP-I) and chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) PSPs against deep-dwelling skin flora using the developed model.

Main Methods:

  • A porcine model was established using microbiological techniques sensitive to deep-dwelling skin flora.
  • Full-thickness skin samples from Yorkshire pigs treated with PVP-I or CHG were homogenized to calculate bioburden.
  • Microbiological and histological analyses were performed to compare porcine skin flora and structure to human skin.

Main Results:

  • Porcine skin's endogenous bioburden (3.3 log10 CFU/cm2) resembles dry human skin.
  • Both PVP-I (1.46 log10 reduction) and CHG (0.58 log10 reduction) failed to meet the FDA's 2-3 log10 reduction criteria.
  • Porcine dermal microbiota and skin structures (hair follicles, sebaceous glands) closely mimic human skin.

Conclusions:

  • The developed porcine model is suitable for evaluating PSP efficacy due to its similarity to human skin.
  • Standard clinical PSPs, including PVP-I and CHG, are insufficient for eradicating deep skin flora.
  • Further research and development of novel PSPs are necessary to address the limitations of current methods.

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