Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.
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9 1 J U N E 2 0 1 4 | O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E 8. Our organization's protocol for pre-operative skin antisepsis is to use an alcohol-based antiseptic, but the dry time for the antiseptic in hair is 60 min- utes which is not feasible. This conflicts with our protocol not to remove hair at the surgical site. What is the best practice? It depends. When using an alcohol-based skin antiseptic for proce- dures involving an ignition source (electrosurgery or laser, for exam- ple), you should clip hair at the surgical site before application of the antiseptic. 1 Hair removal at the surgical site should be performed only in select clinical situations, such as when the presence of hair may contraindicate the use of flammable (alcohol-based) antiseptics, according to manufacturer's instructions for use. There was no evi- dence found that describes the length or amount of hair that consti- tutes a fire risk when using alcohol-based skin antiseptics. When hair removal is necessary, clipping the hair may be associated with a lower risk of developing an SSI than hair removal with a razor. 1 9. Should you wear sterile gloves when performing pre-op patient skin anti- sepsis? Yes, you should wear sterile gloves when performing pre-op patient skin antisepsis. 1 You can wear nonsterile gloves if the antiseptic appli- cator is of sufficient length to prevent contact of the gloved hand with the antiseptic solution and the patient's skin. 1 10. What protective measures should I take to prevent prolonged contact with skin antiseptics? • Protect sheets, padding, positioning equipment and adhesive tape from the dripping or pooling of skin antiseptics beneath and around the patient. 1 • Protect electrodes (electrocardiogram [ECG], electrosurgical unit [ESU] dispersive electrode) and tourniquets from contact with skin S U R G I C A L S K I N A S E P S I S OSE_1406_part2_Layout 1 6/13/14 11:41 AM Page 91