The Effect of Surgical Scrub in Orthopaedic Surgery

Purpose: Two antiseptic solutions were investigated for their effect on bacterial growth inhibition. Materials and Methods: A total of 38 patients were included in this study, who visited Daegu Catholic Medical Center from August 2, 2011 to September 2, 2011. Bacterial culture was performed at the pre-scrub, post-scrub, and postoperation; patients were divided into two groups according to use of povidone iodine (3.75%) and povidone iodine with Softa-Man ® as antiseptic agents at the surgical. Results: Comparison between the antiseptic solutions showed a significant difference for the presence of gram positive cocci (p=0.034), however, no difference was observed for the presence of gram positive bacilli (p=0.838). As the scrub time increased, the positive detection ratio of bacteria decreased (p=0.000), and decreased significantly at more than 120 seconds. However, positive detection ratio of bacteria increased significantly at more than 300 seconds in cases with povidone iodine only (p=0.014). Glove wearing time did not have a significant influence on the positive detection ratio of bacteria, and no significant difference was observed between the antiseptic solutions (p=0.143). Conclusion: Considering the positive detection ratio of bacteria when using povidone iodine only, the appropriate scrub time should be between 4 and 5 minutes. When using both antiseptics, at least 2 minutes of scrub time is needed.