Equine Skin Antisepsis Using an Alcohol-Based Rub

Abstract

Alcohol-based antisepsis has been extensively studied in human health care, but only little information is available regarding efficacy and tolerance in other species. The purpose of this study was to determine if an alcohol-based antiseptic is effective at reducing bacterial counts on equine skin and the appropriate contact time to do so, without causing any adverse skin reactions. Samples were collected before and after preparation from clipped sites over both jugular veins of horses and were plated on 3M Petrifilm Aerobic Count Plates in duplicate. Trial 1 tested an alcohol-based product (ET—80% ethanol) against a control of sterile saline at a contact time of 180-second. Trial 2 tested two different contact times of ET—90 and 180 seconds. All samples were assessed for colony-forming unit counts using an automated 3M Petrifilm reader. Data were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis test, and the significance was set at P < .05. The results determined that ET had a mean 2.95 log10 reduction from prepreparation to postpreparation colony-forming unit counts. A significant difference in log reduction between ET and control (P = .0033) was observed. There was no difference in log10 reduction between the two contact times (P = .75). Mild urticaria was the only skin reaction observed and was often present in both ET and control groups. These findings demonstrate that ET is effective at reducing bacterial counts on equine skin at a contact time of 90 seconds without producing significant adverse skin reaction.