to shower, how often to shower, how long to shower, what to use,
how much to use — but also to remind them to take these steps.
Voicemails, e-mails, even text messages will significantly increase
patient compliance, as we reported in a study (tinyurl.com/njpwvmz) in
the Journal of the American College of Surgeons last year.
People may see pre-op showers as a mundane exercise, but I view
them as a therapeutic practice, like antibiotics' ability to deliver a
dose sufficient to inhibit or kill bacteria. We have data showing a
pharmacokinetic approach for using CHG and demonstrating how it
can attain maximum effect. The things we do before surgery can
provide a great benefit in defending the vulnerability of the surgical
wound afterward. In 1920, the British abdominal surgeon Lord
Moynihan said, "Every operation is an experiment in bacteriology."
Imagine your surgeons saying that before a case today. We have
much better data now. OSM
1 1 3
February 2015 | O U T PAT I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T
E-mail dbernard@outpatientsurgery.net. Financial disclosure: Dr. Edmiston's research studies have been fund-
ed in part by Sage Products, Clorox and CareFusion, the manufacturers of CHG products.
