3M Health Care Study Shows DuraPrep Solution May Be Superior to Chlorhexidine in Preventing Surgical-Site Infections

ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--3M Health Care today announced the publication of a new independent study “Effects of Preoperative Skin Preparation on Postoperative Wound Infection Rates: A Prospective Study of 3 Skin Preparation Protocols,” that compared the effects of three different skin preparation solutions on surgical-site infections. The study found that Iodophor-based skin preparation solutions, such as 3M™ DuraPrep™ Surgical Solution (Iodine Povacrylex [0.7% available Iodine] and Isopropyl Alcohol, 74% w/w) Patient Preoperative Skin Prep, may be superior to chlorhexidine in preventing surgical-site infections. Authored by Brian R. Swenson, MD, Robert G. Sawyer, MD, and colleagues from the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, VA, the study appears in the October 2009 issue of the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.