STUDIES OF THE SURGICAL SCRUB

Background: To evaluate the effectiveness of various scrub techniques in reducing bacterial skin flora, the present study was developed in t hree stages. Methods: Each stage involved fingertip bacterial colony c ounts measured before, immediately after and 30 min after a variety of handwashing techniques using 10% povidone iodine solution. The first compared 1, 2 or 3 non-timed washes from fingertips to elbows in 10 vo lunteers. The second compared two volunteers scrubbing for equal durat ions with or without friction rubbing, while the third involved 15 vol unteers who each scrubbed for different time intervals. Results: The f irst stage showed that a single wash episode failed to provide lasting bacterial colony count reductions on fingertip cultures. The second s howed that enduring colony count reductions occur whether friction rub bing of the hands was used or not, and the third showed that a 30 a wa sh was as effective as washing for longer periods in reducing fingerti p flora. Conclusions: These findings suggest that prolonged vigorous p re-operative scrubbing is unnecessary, although more than a cursory wa sh is required to produce lasting fingertip antisepsis.