Effectiveness of Iodophor vs Chlorhexidine Solutions for Surgical Site Infections and Unplanned Reoperations for Patients Who Underwent Fracture Repair

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Abstract
More than 1 million US individuals sustain an extremity fracture (broken bone in the arm, leg, or pelvis) that requires surgery each year.1,2 Approximately 5% of patients with surgical extremity fractures (approximately 50 000 patients) develop a surgical site infection (SSI),3,4 which is twice the rate among most surgical patients and nearly 5 times the rate among patients undergoing elective orthopedic surgery (eg, joint replacement).4 The prevention of SSIs is an important goal of perioperative care of patients with extremity fractures. Standard operating room practice in the management of extremity fractures includes prophylactic antibiotics, sterile technique, and skin preparation with an antiseptic solution. The available solutions kill bacteria and decrease the quantity of native skin flora, thereby decreasing SSIs.5-8 The most common skin preparation solutions include either an iodophor-based or chlorhexidine-based active ingredient and are delivered in an alcohol-based or aqueous-based solution.

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