student working at the
Mountain View
Regional Hospital
(MVRH) in Casper,
Wyo. She shared her
experience in an hon-
ors thesis paper. At the
time, MVRH was using
povidone-iodine anti-
sepsis. The swabs
came presaturated and
required application 1
hour before surgery;
application required
rotating the swab in
the nostril for 30 sec-
onds on each side and
then repeating the
process. According to
Ms. McCoy, the patients reported no discomfort with the application.
The nares tolerated the solution well, she notes, and the cost for an
application was $3.60.
Ms. McCoy also evaluated the use of alcohol-based nasal antisepsis
in her thesis paper. Because MVRH doesn't use the product, she and
some nurses used the products on themselves. They agreed that it
was easy to use, less messy than the povidone-iodine swabs and that
it had a pleasant scent. One application cost $1.31 when they pur-
chase 250 applicators, she says.
Marshall Medical Center, a 113-bed acute care hospital in Placerville,
A U G U S T 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 3 7
• BE NOSEY Nasal flora is responsible for 80% of MRSA-related SSIs.
