A Cluster-randomized Cross-over Trial Evaluating the Comparative Effectiveness of Three Skin Antiseptic Interventions
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2009-11-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Background: Contaminated blood cultures result in unnecessary antibiotic use, increased
length of stay, and additional laboratory tests, all of which increase healthcare costs.
While the optimal skin antisepsis agent for reducing blood culture contamination is not
known, the cost of various agents differs substantially.
Objective: To determine the relative rates of blood culture contamination for 3 skin
antisepsis interventions - 10% povidone iodine aqueous solution (PI), 2% iodine tincture (IT)
and 2% chlorhexidine gluconate in 70% isopropyl alcohol (CHG) - when used by dedicated
phlebotomy teams to obtain peripheral blood cultures in adult non-ICU medical and surgical
patients.