prep solution question

Specialties Operating Room

Published

I'm sure this is a topic that has been covered before, but I told my supervisor that I would ask.

What do you, "all knowing surgery nurses" use as prep solutions.

We use Dura Prep for most things, betadine and alcohol in a ready to go applicator. We've had good results over the past few years.

Our new ortho doc wants, alcohol, Hibiclens and betadine solution. In that order?? Not really sure.

We had a shortage of Betadine a couple of years ago and switched to Hibiclens. When Betadine came back, we really were not having trouble, so we stayed with it. We also use a clear HCG (?) for preps for central lines.

My question, the Hibiclens bottle says not for use on mucous membranes, and Betadine says external use only, the HCG says not to use on pts' under two. What do you use for lady partsl preps, and on smaller people, facial surgery, etc.

Mike

Specializes in All Surgical Specialties.

Grimmy,

Have you ever read the contents of a shurclens prep container? NO ANTIMICROBIAL or MICROBIOCIDAL AGENTS there! Not much more than purified water. Using that to prep before going throught that staph ridden nose and into the brain? How do you avoid infections? Shurclens should only be used for removal of gross contaminants from trauma and other "dirty" type precleaning. Maybe your docs don't really know what they are asking for when they request the stuff. OR Nurses often find these things out when they investigate the rationale for a doctor's choice of one solution over another. Surgeons are often very greatful, when educated about their choices. It demonstrates that you have their patient's best interest and positive outcome in mind. Boy, and won't you be the model of patient advocacy!

grimmy,

have you ever read the contents of a shurclens prep container? no antimicrobial or microbiocidal agents there! not much more than purified water. using that to prep before going throught that staph ridden nose and into the brain? how do you avoid infections? shurclens should only be used for removal of gross contaminants from trauma and other "dirty" type precleaning. maybe your docs don't really know what they are asking for when they request the stuff. or nurses often find these things out when they investigate the rationale for a doctor's choice of one solution over another. surgeons are often very greatful, when educated about their choices. it demonstrates that you have their patient's best interest and positive outcome in mind. boy, and won't you be the model of patient advocacy!

next time i do a tph, i'll be sure to mention it. quite honestly, we've had no infections that i'm aware of...a few csf leaks, now and then, but no infections. i won't mention it to the hos because i'm guessing that i'll be pooh-poohed. :uhoh3: thanks for bringing this to my attention! :)

Specializes in surgical, emergency.

Stevierae, sorry, guess I'll be the dumb one, but I've not heard of Betadine Gel. I guess I can figure what it is from the name, but how do you apply it, and is it better than good old paint and scrub???

I remember Hibitane. Seems like it was out only for a short time. If I remember, it was basically Hibiclens and Alcohol.

The reason I even brought this issue up was that we had one, maybe two minor mucous membrane irritation, following vag. surgery. One was Betadine, the other Hibiclens, I believe.

The more I study this, I'm not sure there is one right answer. Frankly, I'm tempted to go back to a slightly diluted Betadine scrub and then Betadine paint like I did for the better part of two decades. The odds seem to be there!!

When we first got Durapreps, one nurse wanted to try it on a hemorrhoidectomy. We told her we would all come back to haunt her if she did!!! Could you imagine?!?!?

By the way, I really can't find any lit. help. Our one doc wants alcohol, Betadine sol. and Hibiclens prep. In what order?? I've been doing alcohol, Hibiclens, then Betadine. Not really sure, he isn't much help, and can't find anyone else helpful. Mike

Specializes in All Surgical Specialties.

Mike,

Perhapse your infection control pratitioner or OR Educator could help you out. There is also a vast resource at AORN. They usually have an article on the subject annually. AJN and other professional journals also address this from time to time. GOOD LUCK! TAKE ACTION TO IMPROVE YOUR DEPARTMENT PRACTICES! If you don't you'll be letting your patients and all the rest of us down.

Techni-care prep will be on the market in 6-8 weeks. I e-mailed the company and asked them. Since we have trying to find an alternative to lady partsl preps until they come back on the market, my research has found that CHG, Chloroprep, any scrub solutions - Hibliclens - beatdine scrub- Phisohex is definitely contraindicated. We have removed Hibliclens from our OR, so RNs will not be confused and accidently use it on the vag preps, which has known to cause a dermatitis and scarring in the vag vault. Soals of any kind can produce fat embolus. Betadine paint is the preferred choice and if a patient is allergic to betadine, then the only alternative I have come across is sterile Normal Saline. Use the sponge brushes in the betadine kit, just dip the brush in the sterile normal saline instead of the betadine. Techni-care, which is the best so far for lady partsl preps, has provided the FDA with all of the paperwork requested and so they are now waiting for the go sign from the FDA to start filling back orders.

Specializes in OR.

I dont' have the reference handy at this time, but there is a published study from a few yrs back saying Johnson's baby shampoo (NOT baby wash) diluted 50/50 in NS is an acceptable and effective vag prep for the pt with an iodine sensitivity.

Specializes in Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management.

I can't agree more with the posters who have stated that Duraprep MUST dry before using the bovie. We had an arrogant young doc who refused to listen to us tell him that he must wait for the duraprep to dry before using the bovie on an inguinal hernia case and guess what? BOOM! Fire. It was awful.

Our hospital has gone to Chloraprep now. We have one rather OCD surgeon that uses HCG first, then duraprep, then Betadine scrub, then Betadine paint. We all tease him about how long his prep time is before incision, but his infection rates are very low. We hung a stocking in his OR full of all of the prep solutions we could find!

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