A prospective randomised trial to compare the efficacy of povidone-iodine 10% and chlorhexidine 2% for skin disinfection.

CONTEXT: Infectious complications of invasive procedures affect patient outcomes adversely. Choice of antiseptic solution at the time of insertion is one of the major factors affecting their incidence.

AIMS: This study was undertaken to compare efficacy of chlorhexidine 2% and povidone iodine 10% for skin disinfection prior to placement of epidural and central venous catheters (CVCs).

SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A prospective randomised trial in the operating rooms of a tertiary referral cancer centre.

METHODS: Sixty consecutive adult patients undergoing elective oncosurgery requiring placement of epidural and CVCs were enrolled. Paired skin swabs were collected before and after application of the antiseptic solution. The samples were incubated in McConkey's media and blood agar at 35°C for up to 24 h. Any bacterial growth was graded as: <10 colonies - poor growth, 10-50 colonies - moderate growth and >50 colonies as heavy growth. Data on demographics and antibiotic prophylaxis and costs was collected for all patients.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Student's t-test and Mann-Whitney tests were used to analyse data, P<0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS: Demographics and antibiotic prophylaxis use was similar in both groups. Before application of antiseptic solution, a variety of micro-organisms were grown from most patients with growth ranging from none-heavy. No organism was grown after application of either antiseptic solution from any patient.

CONCLUSIONS: We found no differences between 2% chlorhexidine and 10% povidone-iodine for skin disinfection in regard to costs, efficacy or side-effects.