• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.55-65
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the 1% chlorhexidine gluconate/61% ethanol (CHG/ethanol), 45% ethanol/18% 1-propanol (ethanol/propanol) and 7.5% povidone-iodine (PVI) scrub with brush to evaluate their antimicrobial effect. Method: Utilizing repeated measures design, 9 nurses participated in the study. Glove juice sampling procedure was used to evaluate microbial hand counts before the surgical hand antisepsis, one minute after hand wash, and after the surgery. Results: Waterless rub using CHG and ethanol combination resulted in a 3.94 log reduction at 1 min and 2.78 log reduction at 3 hrs. Ethanol/propanol resulted in a 2.42 at 1 min and 2.22 at 3 hrs. The traditional scrub using PVI with brush resulted in a 0.94 at 1 min and 0.95 at 3 hrs (p=.003) and 3 hrs (p=.026) after the surgical hand antisepsis. Repeated measures ANOVA results showed that there was a statistically significant difference among group (p=.002). Duncan post hoc test result showed that the PVI was less effective (p<.05) in sterilizing microbials on hands than CHG/ethanol or ethanol/propanol. Conclusion: Both of the two alcohol-based antiseptic rubs are acceptable alternatives to the PVI with brush for surgical hand antisepsis.