Author(s)

Kelechukwu A. Okoro¹, Osita Ede¹, Ugochukwu U. Enweani², Emmanuel C. Iyidobi¹, Cajetan U. Nwadinigwe¹, Gabriel O. Eyichukwu¹, Udo E. Anyaehie¹, Francis N. Ahaotu¹, Richard C. Ezeh¹

¹Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma, National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria.
²City Clinics, Enugu, Nigeria.

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is a dreaded nightmare for the Orthopaedic surgeon. Preoperative skin cleaning with antiseptics has been shown to reduce the microbial burden of the skin and results in reduced incidence of SSI. However, the ideal skin cleaning agent remains to be established. Aim: To compare the efficacy of Povidone-Iodine/Povidone-Iodine (PI-PI) combination with that of Chlorhexidine-Gluconate/Alcohol (CG-A) combination in re-ducing SSI in Orthopaedic surgeries. Methods: This was a prospective, randomized, double-blinded, controlled study. Subjects that met the selection criteria and gave consent were randomized into PI-PI group (test group) and the CG-A group (control group). Both the patients and the assessors for SSI were blinded to the group a participant belongs. Blocking was done on the type of surgery to cancel the confounding effect of surgery type on SSI. Standard perioperative protocols were applied to both groups. Assessment for features of SSI was done on the 3^rd day, 7^th day, 14^th day, 6^th week and 12^th-week postoperative period. The diagnosis of SSI was made based on the Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) guidelines. Results: We recruited 124 patients for this study, 62 males and 54 females. The mean age of the subjects was 37.5 years (SD = 14.7 years). Sixty-two subjects were randomized into each group. There was no significant difference in the distribution of the genders in the study arms. Other possible confounders such as duration of hospital stay, use of drains, the surgeon involved and age were evenly distributed in the two groups. Eight patients did not complete the study. The overall incidence of SSI in the study was 2.6%. Subjects in the control group had an SSI of 3.4% while those in the PI-PI group had a rate of 1.8%; however, this was not significant, p = 0.579. Conclusion: Both CG-A and PI-PI combinations are equally efficacious as preoperative skin antiseptic in Orthopaedic implant surgeries.

SSI, Orthopaedic Implant Surgeries, Chlorhexidine Gluconate-Alcohol, Povidone Iodine

Okoro, K. , Ede, O. , Enweani, U. , Iyidobi, E. , Nwadinigwe, C. , Eyichukwu, G. , Anyaehie, U. , Ahaotu, F. and Ezeh, R. (2019) The Antiseptic Efficacy of Povidone-Iodine in Reducing Early Surgical Site Infections in Orthopaedic Implant Surgeries. Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 7, 9-18. doi: 10.4236/jbm.2019.79002.