Although considerable progress has been made in understanding the cause and prevention of surgical site infections during the past 100 years, surgical site infection remain a leading cause of HAIs, especially in developing countries. Surgical site infections are one of the most important causes of healthcare associated infections (HCAIs). *Department of Community Medicine Nishtar Medical College, Multan **Assistant Professor of Anatomy Nishtar Medical College, Multan ***Department of Surgery Nishtar Medical College, Multan Correspondence Hammad ur Rehman Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Nishtar Medical College Multan WHO estimates that 5-10 percent of patients admitted to hospitals in developed countries acquire HAIs, and in developing countries, the proportion affected can exceed 25 percent 2.
Healthcares associated infections (HAIs), also referred as nosocomial infections, are infections that patients acquire while under the care of a healthcare institution. KEYWORDS: Surgical hand antisepsis + alcohol based hand rub+ Application time+ technique INTRODUCTION: Hospital acquired infections are a major cause of death and disability worldwide “At any time, over 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from infectious complications associated with healthcare 1. Brushes are not recommended for surgical hand preparation. Ninety seconds application of alcohol based hand rub is sufficient to perform surgical hand antisepsis. Proper application technique of surgical hand antisepsis is must know thing for the surgeons. My team is hesitant to stop it but that may be progress we make moving forward. You do need to ensure that manfuacturer’s IFUs are being followed for surgical hand antisepsis. Gold standard for surgical hand antisepsis is application of alcohol based hand rub. A traditional hand scrub is not necessary for the first scrub of the day anymore. Using non tested products can compromise surgical antisepsis procedure. Unfortunately in Pakistan, not a single product that produced in local industry has been tested against EN or ASTM standards and they should not be used for surgical hand antisepsis. Surgical antisepsis is done with medicated soap (povidone or chlorhexidine based) or alcohol based hand rub but they should be tested against EN or ASTM standards before marketing. Surgical hand antisepsis is concerned with elimination of transient flora but also reduction of resident flora to an acceptable level. REVIEW ARTICLE SURGICAL HAND ANTISEPSIS: WHAT SURGEONS NEED TO KNOW Hammad ur Rehman, Allah Yar Malik*, Shahid Mansoor Nizami** Asim Shafi*** ABSTRACT: Surgical hand antisepsis is an important way to prevent surgical site infection.