We were intrigued
enough at the
prospect of decolo-
nizing the nose with-
out the risk and com-
plexity of antibiotics
that we trialed a
nasal antiseptic on
our patients (and
staff!) here at the
Baylor Orthopedic
and Spine Hospital at
Arlington, an ortho-
pedic treatment and
surgical center with 23 beds in 1- or 2-bed rooms. We focus on spine
and joint, specialties where surgical site infections can be particularly
devastating. Read on to find out how we integrated a nasal antiseptic
into our existing infection control protocols and lowered infection rates
for MRSA-suspected patients, staff and caregivers.
Trialing a nasal antiseptic
The goal of our trial was to see if nasal decolonization would reduce
our Staphylococcus aureus infection rates in our spine surgery
patients. We added the nasal antiseptic to our existing practice of
hand hygiene and pre-opera-
tive skin decolonization using
chlorhexidine gluconate
bathing and body wipes.
Nasal antiseptics come as
either an alcohol-based or
M A R C H 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 6 7
The patient's assigned
and labeled bottle
traveled with the chart
to the PACU.
• KEEP YOUR NOSE CLEAN When patients undergoing spinal surgery swabbed the inside of their noses with a
topical antiseptic before the procedure, there was a dramatic reduction in surgical-site infections.
Baylor
Orthopedic
&
Spine
Hospital