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infectious bacteria, and we rely heavily on it, but there's still a role for povidone-iodine in most, if not all, surgical facilities.
Note that none of the studies referenced above examined the effectiveness of skin preps before eye, ear, head or neck surgery, or surgical sites that incorporate mucous membranes. For the most part, povidone-iodine is the only prep in town for those cases (see "Skin Prep Characteristics and Cautions"). It's also a useful alternative if a patient is allergic or sensitive to CHG.
As suggested by the open hernia repair study, povidone-iodine may do just as well as CHG in prepping for general and abdominal surgeries. One reason for this: The belly tends to be primarily colonized by gram- negative bowel flora, against which iodine has a strong antimicrobial effect, rather than the gram-positive skin flora that's the chief
