To study the effectiveness of preoperative bladder washing with povidone-iodine to prevent postprostatectomy wound infection.

Patients with an indwelling catheter and scheduled for prostatectomy were divided into two groups. In patients in group 1 (n = 76) the indwelling catheter was simply removed without bladder irrigation. Patients in group 2 (n = 80) had their bladder washed with a nondiluted solution of povidone-iodine before surgery.

One hundred fifty-six consecutive patients with an indwelling catheter and bacteriuria. Mean age was 64 years. All patients had an open prostatectomy during the 12-month study period. Patients undergoing open prostatectomy during the first 6 months of the study had no bladder irrigation and served as the control group. Patients undergoing open prostatectomy during the following 6 months had a bladder instillation with povidone-iodine.

Wound infection appeared in 17 of 76 patients (22.4%) without bladder washing and in 4 of 80 patients (5%) when 50 to 60 ml of the solution was retained in the bladder for 10 to 13 minutes (p=.001). The incidence of postoperative bacteriuria remained unchanged in the control group (100%) but was reduced to 22.5% in the treated group (p= .001). Statistical comparisons of incidence were done using the chi square test.

It has been demonstrated that the use of preoperative bladder instillation of povidone-iodine may be highly effective in the prevention of postprostatectomy wound infection and in reducing the incidence of bacteriuria in patients with an indwelling catheter and urine colonization.

To prospectively examine the epidemiology of blood and body fluid exposures sustained by medicine housestaff, medical school students, registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and nurses' aides (NAs) on general medicine wards and to define problem areas that may be amenable to change.

Daily data collection during 9 months using a self-reporting questionnaire.

General medical wards in 2 tertiary referral hospitals.

Medicine housestaff/students and nursing personnel.

Physicians reported 644 exposures, of which 98 (15.2%), 296 (46.0%), and 250 (38.8%) were sustained by medicine residents, interns, and students, respectively. Blood contact occurred with 591 (91.8%) exposures. For physicians, 575 (89.3%) exposures occurred during venipuncture, intravenous catheter manipulation, and arterial punctures. Interns and students most commonly incurred exposures during venipunctures and intravenous manipulations; residents commonly were exposed during emergent intravenous catheter placements. Five-hundred-twenty-two (8 1%) exposures occurred between 7 A.M. and 7 P.M. During 524 (81.4%) exposures, physicians were not using barrier devices. Nurses reported 235 exposures, of which 140 (59.6%), 23 (9.8%), and 72 (30.6%) were sustained by RNs, LPNs, and NAs, respectively. RN exposures commonly occurred during intravenous manipulations and glucometer fingersticks. LPNs and NAs incurred a higher percentage of exposures during nonprocedural patient care. Blood contact and wound drainage accounted for 167 (71.1%) and 31 (13.2%) exposures, respectively.

Exposures to blood and body fluids frequently are incurred by healthcare workers on general medical wards. Efforts to reduce these exposures should be directed not only at improving procedural skills of healthcare workers for venipunctures, intravenous catheter insertions, and glucometer fingersticks, but also in increasing barrier use during procedural and nonprocedural tasks.

To define accurate wound infection rates for the cardiac surgery service based on site of infection and characterization as “deep” or “incisional” and to determine whether a correctable cause for an apparent increase in deep wound infection rates existed.

Observational.

Tertiary-care teaching hospital.

All adults undergoing open heart surgery in 1988 and 1989.

Changed from razor to clipper preoperative hair removal in January 1989.

Deep sternotomy wound infections decreased significantly from 1.2% in 1988 to 0.2% in 1989 (p=.010) and deep venectomy (vein donor site) wound infections declined from 1.6% to 0.4% (p=.014) during the same time period. Incisional wound infection rates did not change. Patients with deep infections more likely required readmission or operation to treat their infection than those with incisional wound infections. The percentage of gram-negative organisms causing wound infections decreased from 56.3% in 1988 to 34.7% in 1989 (p= ,017).

Preoperative hair removal using a clipper appears to have decreased the risk of deep wound infection compared with razor preparation. The dichotomous wound classification of “deep” and “incisional” distinguished between patients who required additional interventions for treatment of wound infections.

Two pilot studies were conducted to produce efficacy data on an observational tool designed to assess the use of Universal Precautions (UP) in patient care settings. The instrument addresses barrier precautions, hand-washing, handling of sharps, and avoidance of unprotected mouth to mouth resuscitation.

The Universal Precautions Assessment Tool was submitted to a panel of 3 experts to establish consensual validity. It was pilot tested by 2 simultaneous observers to establish interrater reliability.

Pilot Study I was conducted in 3 different units within a 100-bed U.S. Army hospital. Pilot Study II was conducted in the emergency department of a large university-based hospital.

Subjects observed were registered nurses providing acute patient care.

Two simultaneous raters calculated UP compliance rates of 76.4% and 78.6%, respectively, for 9 nurses in Pilot Study I, and 62% and 65%, respectively, for 5 nurses in Pilot Study II. The intraclass correlation coefficient for the raters' scores in Pilot Study I was 0.992 with a 95% confidence interval (0.979, 0.997). Consensual validity was established.

The instrument has acceptable interrater reliability under the conditions used. Limitations to use include the possibility of a Hawthorne effect and the fact that assessing proper implementation of UP occasionally relies on a “judgment call” by the observer. With test conditions adjusted to minimize these limitations and with proper consideration of sample size, the tool can be used by researchers and by monitors of hospital quality control to measure UP compliance of caregivers individually or collectively.