Comparing Surgeon Adherence with World Health Organization Antiseptic Guidelines for Surgical Site Preparation in the United Kingdom and India.

Abstract

Background: Skin preparation with an antiseptic solution aims to reduce surgical site infection rates. Surgical site infections (SSIs) create a high burden on healthcare systems with impacts on morbidity, mortality, and cost. In 2016, The World Health Organization (WHO) conducted an extensive systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing evidence. From this, they recommended the use of "alcohol based antiseptic solutions based on CHG for surgical site skin preparation in patients undergoing surgical procedures." This study aimed to assess surgeon compliance with this guidance in the United Kingdom and India. Methods: A multiple-choice questionnaire was developed to assess surgeon preferences for antiseptic use in their surgical site preparation. The end point of data collection was defined after 50 responses in each region. Results: The majority of respondents in each center was general surgeons (n = 24, 48% United Kingdom; n = 21, 45% India), and registrars (n = 22, 44% United Kingdom; n = 23, 49% India). No surgeon preferred the use of any aqueous preparation. Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) was the preparation used most commonly in both centers (n = 30, 64% India; n = 24, 48% United Kingdom). In India, this represented a statistically significant difference (p = 0.0008), however, this was not observed in the United Kingdom (p = 0.22). There were no statistically significant differences between surgeon's reasons between the United Kingdom and India, other than "easier to see" (p = 0.016). Conclusions: This data show a reduced compliance of U.K. surgeons with WHO guidance for antiseptic use compared with Indian surgeons. Although the WHO has attempted to summarize the existing data to minimize the previous uncertainty surrounding antiseptic choices, the use of CHG continues to not be adopted widely. To draw robust conclusions to provide the foundations of further guidelines, future research should focus on prospective randomized controlled trials with large numbers across multiple surgical specialties.