Preventing Surgical Site Infections: A Narrative Review of Antiseptic Solutions in the Operating Theatre

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are commonly encountered postoperatively and can lead to devastating effects to the patient in terms of prolonged recovery, extended hospital stay, additional morbidity and possibly mortality. For hospitals, it can increase cost burden, add to the bed crisis and prolong surgical waiting lists. Surgeons and scrub nurses use a variety of antiseptic agents to prepare their hands and patients' skin on the surgical site pre-operatively to help minimise the risk of infections. The objective of this narrative review was to retrieve and create a summary of existing evidence in the literature about the antiseptics used in surgery to prevent surgical site infections and highlight any possible limitations noted in the literature.