Vaginal Preparation with Povidone Iodine before Caesarean Delivery: A Randomized Control Trial

Background: Infection is the commonest complication associated with Caesarean section (CS). There is a need to modify our practice to reduce infectious morbidity associated with Caesarean section. Objectives: The study aimed at investigating the effect of vaginal preparation with antiseptic lotion on post-Caesarean infection rate, namely; maternal febrile morbidity, endometritis and wound infection. Subjects and Methods: A randomized trial where patients were randomly assigned into two groups: Intervention group and a control group with 65 patients in each group. Patients were reviewed within the 3rd and 5th postoperative day to look for predefined variables for maternal febrile morbidity, endometritis and wound site infection. Results: Vaginal preparation with povidone-iodine was found to decrease the risk of post-Caesarean febrile morbidity, endometritis and wound infection. There was a statistically significant reduction in endometritis observed in the intervention group (p= 0.041) Conclusion: Vaginal preparation with antiseptic lotion significantly reduced post-operative Caesarean endometritis, and composite infectious morbidity hence beneficial. Since this intervention is expensive, it gives a lot of relief and benefits at virtually no cost.