OPTIMAL PRE-SURGICAL SKIN ASEPSIS 1 USE OF STANDARDIZED PROCESSES TO ACHIEVE OPTIMAL PRE-SURGICAL SKIN ASEPSIS by Rose Loiacono, MSN DEBBIE NOGUERAS, PhD, Faculty Mentor and Chair

Surgical site infections are a significant threat to patient safety, they increase patient mortality and morbidity, and increase health care expenditures. A pre-surgical protocol that implements two applications of 2% Chlorhexidine gluconate using prepackaged cloths is an evidence-based practice that kills and then prohibits the growth of potentially dangerous skin flora. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of 2% Chlorhexidine gluconate cloths when administered twice pre-surgically to reduce the incidence of surgical site infections and to improve pre-surgical documentation. The Iowa framework for quality improvement was used with results demonstrating that, while documentation remained an area for improvement, there was a significant decrease in surgical site infections over the comparison group.