Antimicrobial Activity of Iodophor and Chlorhexidine in Surgical Preparation of Skin

An effective pre surgical Preparation is important step in preventing surgical wound contamination and post operative infection. Preparing a 100% sterile surgical environment is one of the biggest challenges of surgery. Since skin is the most common source of pathogen they make the skin preparation at the time of procedure critical. The most common skin preparation agents are iodophors and chlorhexidine. The aqueous based iodophors are, such as povidone iodine is one of the few products that can be safely used on mucous membrane. Iodophor and chlorhexidine are quick sustained and durable with broader spectrum anti microbial activity. These agents are ideal for longer open surgeries. There is a need for comparison of antimicrobial activity of iodophor and chlorhexidine. In surgical preparation of the skin. In this study we used iodophor and chlorhexidine to check their anti microbial activity in surgical preparation of skin. A square of area 10 sq cm was drawn on the surface of the skin on arm and divided into upper half and lower half.2 sterilised cotton swabs were taken and they were moistened with saline water. First swab was taken before applying the disinfectant and the second swab was taken 2 mins after applying the disinfectant. Both swabs were spread in the TSA agar. Total bacterial count was counted in the before and after swab. Iodine was used as disinfectant in 5 people and chlorhexidine was used as disinfectant in 5 people. Iodophor had a better activity against the micro organisms than that of the chlorhexidine.