A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that chlorhexidine-alcohol is better than povidone-iodine at preventing surgical-site infections.
   To compare the two cleansing agents, researchers studied 849 adults scheduled for clean-contaminated surgery. Patients were randomized to receive preoperative skin preparation with either chlorhexidine-alcohol scrub or povidone-iodine scrub and paint. The researchers then tracked the development of surgical-site infections for 30 days after surgery.
   Researchers found significantly fewer infections in the chlorhexidine-alcohol group (9.5% versus 16.1%). They also found that chlorhexidine-alcohol offered significantly better protection against superficial incisional infections (4.2% versus 8.6%) and deep incisional infections (1% versus 3%) but not against organ-space infections (4.4% versus 4.5%). Adverse events were similar in the two study groups. (N Eng J Med, 362:18-26, 2010)

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