Question

Summarize (in your own words) the interventions the author(s) suggest to improve patient outcomes.

Tanner, J., Dumville, J. C., Norman, G., & Fortnam, M. (2016). Surgical hand antisepsis to reduce surgical site infection. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD004288. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004288.pub3.

Answer 1

The authors have included 14 randomised controlled trials that compared a range of methods for performing pre-surgical hand antisepsis. The two outcome measures used appraise the effectiveness of interventions were the number of SSIs in patients and the number of viable microorganisms or colony-forming units (CFUs) on the person hand who is performing the surgery, before and after surgery. The results of few studies suggest that hand antisepsis with chlorhexidine may reduce the number of bacteria on the hands of health professionals more effectively compared with povidone iodine, yet the clinical evidence is unclear. More evidence suggests that alcohol rubs with additional antiseptic ingredients may decrease CFUs compared with aqueous scrubs. There is no strong evidence that one type of hand antisepsis is superior in reducing SSIs than others.

When comparing the duration of use of hand antisepsis, a 3-minute initial scrub is better than a 2 minute scrub in reducing CFUs on the hand, but the evidence is not strong. The effectiveness of nail picks and brushes in reducing the number of CFUs remains unclear.

In conclusion, the author states that there is no strong evidence that one hand sterilization methods are superior to others.