A comparison of chlorhexidine and povidone-iodine skin preparation for surgical operations

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine if 2 paints of chlorhexidine as a skin preparation was as effective as a 5-minute povidone-iodine scrub followed by 2 paints of Betadine solution (Betadine solution, povidone-iodine 10% equal to 1% available iodine; Purdue Frederick, Norwalk, Connecticut). In the first trial involving 10 volunteers, one side of the back was painted with 2 coats of chlorhexidine and the other side of the back was scrubbed with povidone-iodine for 5 minutes, left to dry, and then painted with Betadine. Cultures were obtained using the membrane filter adsorption method before the skin preparation and at 30, 60, and 120 minutes after the preparation. In the second trial, both the Betadine and chlorhexidine paints were dried. Bacterial counts were then obtained at 48 hours. There was no difference between the number of colonies cultured from the povidone-iodine/Betadine compared with the chlorhexidine skin preparation. This finding suggests that chlorhexidine is as effective as 5 minutes of povidone-iodine scrub with 2 paints of povidone-iodine solution.