Chlorhexidine and/or Betadine Prep in Pediatric Arm Surgery Following Trauma
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2022-06-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
There have been numerous studies demonstrating surgical site infections that arise from
contamination at time of surgery or by seeding from other sites in the body which arise from
organisms normally found on the skin. This has been known to cause complications in spine
surgery, shoulder, hip, and knee arthroplasty. While studies have shown that organisms like
Cutibacterium persists on the skin despite standard surgical preparation, there have not been
studies that examine the organisms found in the fingernail region pre- and post- standard
surgical preparations. This study investigates how thorough fingernails are prepped prior to
the operation. The results of this study would determine whether providers are adequately
cleaning the patient's entire arm, including under the fingernail, prior to surgery. The
results may support continuation of the current practice or adding to the standard surgical
preparation to ensure adequately sterilization of surgical sites and all exposed areas, which
include the fingernails.