Question

Describe the importance of a negative control for the aseptic technique experiments and what a positive result indicates.

Answer 1

-ve control

Antisepsis relates to the removal, or elimination, of transient microorganisms from the skin and a reduction in the resident flora. The resident flora help protect the patient from infection by competing with pathogens for substrate and tissue receptors. The most common resident organisms of the skin are the coagulase-negative staphylococci, with Staphylococcus epidermidis accounting for more than 90% of resident aerobes.

Techniques may be applied to eliminate contamination (bacterial, viral, fungal and others) present on objects and the skin by means of sterilization and disinfection. Living surfaces, the skin, the operating field and the surgeon's hands cannot be considered sterile. Therefore, the goal of preoperative skin cleansing is to dramatically decrease the resident skin flora to its lowest potential level.

In a broader sense, asepsis concerns an idyllic state, in which the instruments, the skin and the surgical incision are free from pathogenic organisms and transient flora, while antisepsis includes all those prophylactic procedures designed to promote surgical asepsis.