Archive > Infection Control 2003

What Do You Know About Patient Prepping?

There is much that remains unknown about the science of prepping.

Ramona Conner, RN, MSN, CNOR

include "_nav_tab.php";This may surprise you, but science has never proven for certain that antiseptic prepping of a surgical site actually reduces the risk of SSI. Unfortunately, there is more we don't know about prepping as an SSI-reducing measure than what infection control experts know for certain. This is what we do know. We know that human skin harbors a multitude of microorganisms. We know that SSI risk increases markedly with a bacterial concentration of more than one million microbes per gram of tissue. Therefore, most experts believe it makes sense to pre-emptively reduce the bacterial population adjacent to the surgical site incision. Here is a 6-question quiz to test your knowledge on recommended prepping practices. The answers may not be as clear-cut as they seem at first glance.

 
Have an account? Please sign in:
Email Address:
Password:
Categories:

Keywords:

AORN; Administration; American Journal; Application; CDC; CDC Guidelines; CDC's; CHG; CHG-based; Category; Catheter Practices: Results; Catheter-Related Infections; Chlorhexidine; Committee. Guideline; Companies; Control Hospital Epidemiology; Control Practices Committee. Guideline; Control, February; Drug Administration; Drug Application; ENT; Epidemiology; FDA; February; Final Monograph; Food; Guideline; Hospital Epidemiology; Hospital Infection Control Practices Committee. Guideline; Infection Control Hospital Epidemiology; Infection Control Practices Committee. Guideline; Infection Control... show all keywords
AORN; Administration; American Journal; Application; CDC; CDC Guidelines; CDC's; CHG; CHG-based; Category; Catheter Practices: Results; Catheter-Related Infections; Chlorhexidine; Committee. Guideline; Companies; Control Hospital Epidemiology; Control Practices Committee. Guideline; Control, February; Drug Administration; Drug Application; ENT; Epidemiology; FDA; February; Final Monograph; Food; Guideline; Hospital Epidemiology; Hospital Infection Control Practices Committee. Guideline; Infection Control Hospital Epidemiology; Infection Control Practices Committee. Guideline; Infection Control, February; Infections; Intravascular Catheter-Related Infections; Journal; Knowledge; Monograph; NDA; Numerous; OR. Companies; Practices Committee. Guideline; Practices: Results; Prepared Test Knowledge; Prevention; Remove; Results; SSI; SSI-reducing; Severe; Shaving; Standard; TFM; Tentative Final Monograph; Test Knowledge; Thus, AORN; Venous Catheter Practices: Results; acceptable; accepted; accompany; active; activity; acts; adjacent; administration; agency; agent; alcohol; answers; anti-microbial; antibiotic; antimicrobial; antisepsis; antiseptic; applications; applies; areas; aseptic; aware; back; bacteria; bacterial; barrier; based; basically; bathing; battery-powered; blood; body; broad; carefully; carries; catherization; centers; chances; channels; chlorhexidine; chlorhexidine-based; choice; clear-cut; clip; clipper; closely; colonies; common; commonly; companies; company; compliance; comply; concentration; conclusive; conjunction; considered; continues; contraindicated; control; correct; create; criteria; current; date; day; deal; decided; demands; dermatologic; desiring; difference; direct; disposable; double; drape; draping; duration; effective; efficacy; eight-plus; electric; entering; equal; equally; evaluating; evidence; exists; experts; explicitly; extra; face; facilities; falling; field; firm; flammable; fluids; fungi; gels; good; gram; granting; greatly; guidelines; hair; harbors; head; helping; helps; high-risk; highly; honor; human; immune; impervious; important; impossible; impregnated; inactivated; incision; include; including; increase; infection; infectious; information; insertion; iodine; iodophor; iodophor-based; iodophors; irritation; issues; killing; knowledge; large; link; liquids; list; long; loose; makes; mandatory; manufacturers; markedly; market; marketed; matter; measure; microbes; microbial; microorganisms; million; mucous; multi-specialty; multitude; navigate; non-ENT; notes; ophthalmology; organisms; organizations; orthopedic; outdated; packing; page; part; patient; performing; physical; plastics; popular; population; possibility; potential; potentially; practice; pre-emptively; precautions; prep; prepping; preps; preventative; preventing; previous; prior; procedures; product; products; prophylaxis; proven; provide; published; purchase; purchaser; quickly; quiz; razors; re-usable; reach; ready; recognizes; recommend; recommendations; recommended; recommends; reduce; reduces; regulates; regulation; regulatory; remote; removal; reputable; require; residual; resistant; rigid; risk; road; routine; safe; safety; science; scientific; scored; sense; sets; shave; shaving; short; shortcomings; show; showers; showing; single; site; skin; slightly; solution; specialties; spectrum; spores; standards; statements; status; step; sterile; strains; studies; sufficient; suggest; suggesting; supporting; surgery; surgical; surprise; teams; test; testing; time; tougher; tradition; traumatize; type; undergo; unwanted; utilize; vitro; vivo; voluntary; worked; works; wound

DID YOU SEE THIS?
Orthopaedics

A Smarter Way to do Arthroscopy Fluid Management

/_media/adv/web/images/2013/20130101_USWorldMeds_AR-300x250.jpg

Other Articles That May Interest You

Cutting Remarks - Hanging Out at the Scrub Sink

You can learn a lot from the way someone performs the hand and arm scrub.

Staffing - How Do You Prepare for an OR Emergency?

A hospital simulates 4 operating room disasters on mannequins.

Anesthesia Alert

Helping Anesthetists Deal With Catastrophes