team that a critical stage of the procedure is
taking place and that the nurses should be
allowed to apply the prep without interruption
and distraction.
4. Follow instructions for use
The procedure type, location of the surgery
and patients' allergies influence what prepping
agent to use and how to apply it. For example,
CHG-based products can't be used on mucous
membranes or around the eyes. Povidone-
iodine, on the other hand, can be used around
mucous membranes and is a good alternative
for patients who are sensitive to CHG solu-
tions. Always refer to prep manufactures'
instructions for use and follow them to the let-
ter. We require staff to sign off that they con-
sulted and followed manufactures' instruc-
tions whenever preps are applied.
Once we standardized our prep application
practices, it took some time to gain accept-
ance from the surgeons. Some surgeons still
wanted to apply preps in their preferred way,
which proved challenging. We try to enforce
our standardized application methods, but if
they chose not to comply with the directives
we document their refusal in the operative
report. Still, even with the occasional push
back from surgeons, their compliance
increased from 40% to over 70%.
M A y 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 1
ChloraPrep™
is
a
trademark
of
Becton,
Dickinson
and
Company.
Proven
to
resist
all
preps,
including
ChloraPrep
™
XL
Prep
Resistant
Ink
viscotcs@viscot.com
•
800.221.0658
•
www.viscot.com
Get a sample of the
CHG compatible
marker that's
turning
heads
P
