Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 May 1;45(5):554-556.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2016.12.021. Epub 2017 Feb 8.

Perioperative participation of orthopedic patients and surgical staff in a nasal decolonization intervention to reduce Staphylococcus spp surgical site infections

Anildaliz Mullen  1 , Helen J Wieland  2 , Eric S Wieser  2 , Ernst W Spannhake  3 , Rebecca S Marinos  2
Affiliations
Free article

Perioperative participation of orthopedic patients and surgical staff in a nasal decolonization intervention to reduce Staphylococcus spp surgical site infections

Anildaliz Mullen et al. Am J Infect Control. .
Free article

Abstract

With the goal of reducing rates of surgical site infections in our spine patients, we initiated a trial to investigate the impact of adding perisurgical nasal decolonization involving patients and surgical and nursing staff. We combined immediate presurgical application of a nonantibiotic alcohol-based nasal antiseptic with existing chlorhexidine bath or wipes in a comprehensive pre- and postoperative decolonization protocol. Mean infection rates were significantly decreased by 81% from 1.76 to 0.33 per 100 surgeries during the 15-month trial, when compared with the prior 9-month baseline.

Keywords: Alcohol-based nasal antiseptic; Anterior nares; Perioperative nasal decolonization; Spine surgery; Staff nasal decolonization.

PubMed Disclaimer