DOI
https://doi.org/10.18849/ve.v10i4.51Abstract
Question
In small animal surgery are alcoholic hand rubs superior to scrubbing brushes and antimicrobial soap at reducing bacterial counts?
The category of research question was:
Prevalence.
The number and type of study designs that were critically appraised were:
Two studies. One prospective randomised controlled trial and one clinical trial.
Critical appraisal of the selected papers meeting the inclusion criteria collectively provide zero/weak/moderate/strong evidence in terms of their experimental design and implementation:
Moderate.
The outcomes reported are summarised as follows…
That alcohol hand rubs are as effective, if not more, than antimicrobial soap for presurgical hand preparation when used according to the manufacturer guidelines.
In view of the strength of evidence and the outcomes from the studies the following conclusion is made…
Alcohol hand rubs are as effective than antimicrobial soaps at presurgical hand preparation. If human healthcare studies were included in this Knowledge Summary, the results would likely be stronger and more conclusive so this should be considered for a separate knowledges summary. There are also added benefits to using alcohol hand rubs such as saving water and quicker preparation of the surgical scrub team.
References
Chou, P-Y., Doyle, A.J., Arai, S., Burke, P.J. & Bailey, T.R. (2016). Antibacterial Efficacy of Several Surgical Hand Preparation Products Used by Veterinary Students. Veterinary Surgery. 45(4), 515–522. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/vsu.12473
Kampf, G. & Osteomeyer, C. (2005). Efficacy of two distinct ethanol based hand rubs for surgical hand disinfection- a controlled trial according to prEN 12791. BMC Infectious Diseases. 5(1). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2334-5-17
Löffler, H. & Kampf, G. (2008). Hand Disinfection: How irritant are Alcohols? Journal of Hospital Infection. 70(S1), 44–48. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0195-6701(08)60010-9
Parienti, J.J., Thibon, P. & Heller, R. (2002). Hand Rubbing with an Aqueous Solution vs Traditional Surgical Hand Scrubbing and 30-Day Surgical Site Infection Rates: A Randomized Equivalence Study. Journal of the American Medical Association. 288(6), 722–727. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.288.6.722
Tanner, J., Swarbrook, S. & Stuart, J. (2008). Surgical hand antisepsis to reduce surgical site infection. Cochrane Database Systematic Review. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD004288.pub2
Verwilghen, D.R., Mainil, J., Mastrocicco, E., Hamaide, A., Detilleux, J., van Galen, G., Serteyn, D. & Grulke, S. (2011). Surgical hand antisepsis in veterinary practice: Evaluation of soap scrubs and alcohol based rub techniques. The Veterinary Journal. 190(3), 372–377. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2010.12.020
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