Chlorhexidine compared with povidone-iodine as skin preparation before blood culture - A randomized, controlled trial

Citation
O. Mimoz et al., Chlorhexidine compared with povidone-iodine as skin preparation before blood culture - A randomized, controlled trial, ANN INT MED, 131(11), 1999, pp. 834-837
Citations number
20
Categorie Soggetti
General & Internal Medicine","Medical Research General Topics
Journal title
ANNALS OF INTERNAL MEDICINE
ISSN journal
00034819 → ACNP
Volume
131
Issue
11
Year of publication
1999
Pages
834 - 837
Database
ISI
SICI code
0003-4819(199912)131:11<834:CCWPAS>2.0.ZU;2-1
Abstract
Background: Chlorhexidine is better than povidone-iodine for care of cathet er sites, but it is not known whether chlorhexidine is superior in reducing blood culture contamination. Objective: To determine whether alcoholic chlorhexidine is a more effective skin antiseptic for collection of blood cultures than aqueous povidone-iod ine, Design: Randomized, controlled trial. Setting: Three adult intensive care units in a French university hospital. Patients: 403 adults who had at least one blood culture drawn through a per ipheral vein. I nterventions: Patients were randomly assigned to receive skin preparation w ith an aqueous solution of 10% povidone-iodine or an alcoholic solution of 0.5% chlorhexidine before phlebotomy. Measurements: Contamination rates of blood cultures. Results: Of 2041 blood cultures collected in 403 patients, 124 yielded path ogens. Chlorhexidine reduced the incidence of blood culture contamination m ore than povidone-iodine (14 of 1019 cultures [1.4%] compared with 34 of 10 22 cultures [3.3%]; odds ratio, 0.40 [95% Cl, 0.21 to 0.75]; P = 0.004). Conclusion: Skin preparation with alcoholic chlorhexidine is more efficacio us than skin preparation with aqueous povidone-iodine in reducing contamina tion of blood cultures.