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Skin Prep
     
Infection Prevention

Hand Antiseptic Prep
Hand antisepsis plays a significant role in preventing nosocomial infections and the associated morbidity, mortality and costs. 3M offers healthcare providers effective hand antisepsis products that help maintain skin integrity.

Check out the CDC Guideline (PDF 260kb) which promotes use of alcohol-based hand antiseptics for use in healthcare settings.
Infection Prevention

Patient Prepping
Since many of the microorganisms responsible for SSI reside on the patient's own skin, preoperative skin preparation serves as a front-line defense against surgical site infection. One goal of SSI risk reduction is to decrease the bacteria count on the skin prior to any procedure while minimizing the potential for skin damage.

Body hair removal and antimicrobial skin prepping are two elements of the preoperative skin preparation process.The 3M Infection Prevention System includes products ideally suited to meet this goal.

Why is Skin Prep important?
CDC: "The increased SSI risk associated with shaving has been attributed to microscopic cuts in the skin that later serve as foci for bacterial multiplication," according to the CDC. "Clipping hair immediately before an operation also has been associated with a lower risk of SSI than shaving or clipping the night before an operation (SSI rates immediately before = 1.8% vs. night before =4.0%)."

View the complete CDC document (PDF 270kb)

Guideline for Prevention of Surgical Site Infection, 1999, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, p. 257.

Education
Sterilization Assurance
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Industry
Guidelines

Product Solutions
Hand Antiseptic Prep

Patient Prepping

Educational Programs

  • Training Video (streaming)
    3M™ DuraPrep™ Surgical Solution (Iodine Povacrylex [0.7% available iodine] and Isopropyl Alcohol, 74% w/w) Patient Preoperative Skin Prep