Chlorhexidine Versus Povidone Iodine in Bacterial Contamination Rate of Needles Used for Spinal Anesthesia

Skin antisepsis prior to the induction of spinal anesthesia is essential because of the potential for infectious complications. Povidone-iodine is a widely used antiseptic solution for skin preparation before spinal anesthesia, and chlorhexidine alcohol solution is a commonly used alternative to povidone-iodine. Previous studies have shown that chlorhexidine is more effective than povidone-iodine for skin preparation before intravascular catheter insertion or blood culture collection. The bacterial contamination rate of needles used for spinal anesthesia disinfected with povidone-iodine has also been previously studied; however, no study has been carried out to evaluate the comparative anti-microbial efficacies of povidoneiodine and chlorhexidine for skin disinfection prior to spinal anesthesia. The aim of this prospective trial was to determine if an alcoholic solution of 0.5% chlorhexidine is more effective than an aqueous solution of 10% povidone-iodine at reducing the bacterial contamination rate of spinal needles.