Comparison of bacterial count of different surgical hand scrubbing techniques using chlorhexidine gluconate

Many guidelines have been published on surgical scrubbing techniques. The aim of this study was to compare bacterial count reduction with usage of brush, without brush and application of alcohol handrub after brushless scrubbing. Four per cent of chlorhexidine was chosen as disinfectant. Fifteen final year veterinary students were randomly assigned to different groups: scrubbing with brush, scrubbing without brush and scrubbing without brush followed by application of alcohol handrub before donning surgical gloves. Bacterial counts were performed using glove juice procedure, for pre-scrubbing and one hour post-scrubbing. No significant difference between these methods was observed regardless of the significant difference in pre-scrubbing hand bacterial counts. In conclusion, the experiment does not support the mandatory use of brush in surgical scrubbing. Brushless scrubbing alone or followed by alcohol handrub could be the alternatives.