Healthcare professionals use antiseptics to clean the area of the body where the surgery takes place. This process reduces the risk of a surgical site infection (SII) caused by bacteria that enter the body of a patient through the site of the incision.
SII can be severe and sometimes require additional surgery to cure it. But according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Infection Control, SII can be prevented by using nasal povidone-iodine (PVP-I) before surgery. The application of pre-surgery intranasal povidone-iodine (PVP-I) reduces Staphylococcus aureus colonization, the bacteria that causes SII.
In this retrospective case-control study, researchers involved 688 adults aged 65 or older and created a post-intervention group. These adults underwent knee, hip, and spine surgery with the application of pre-surgery intranasal PVP-I. These surgeries were performed at Soroka University Medical Center between February 2018 and October 2021.
Researchers tracked the outcomes of these patients for 90 days after their surgery. They compared this data with the data of the historical patient cohort from 2016 and 2017. In the surgeries performed during 2016 and 2017, healthcare professionals did not use pre-surgery intranasal PVP-I.
When researchers saw the data, they noticed that 28 adults among 688 had SSI. They also saw that adults who had Staphylococcus aureus in their nose after 24 hours of surgery and diabetes mellitus – had a higher risk of SSI.
When researchers compared the data of the post-intervention group and the historical patient cohort, they observed that the SSI rate per 100 surgeries had decreased for all surgical procedures after the implication of this protocol. The use of intranasal PVP-I reduced 39.6% of Staphylococcus aureus growth.
As the results of this study show that using pre-surgery intranasal PVP-I reduces Staphylococcus aureus colonies in the nose, it can be an effective way to lower the risk of SSI in patients undergoing knee, hip, and spine surgery. This research suggests that patients who have Staphylococcus aureus in their noses before surgery should use intranasal PVP-I again post healing. This research will help healthcare professionals reduce the risk of SSI in patients undergoing surgeries.
Reference Link:
Getting the Drop on Staphylococcus aureus: Semi-Quantitative Staphylococcus aureus Nasal Colony Reduction in Orthopedic Surgery Reduces Surgical Site Infection, American Journal of Infection Control (2024).
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2024.02.014
