ABSTRACT: Samples were taken before and after skin preparation in 25 dogs undergoing abdominal surgery. Bacterial culture and sensitivity testing was undertaken. Eight of 25 dogs had bacteria present after preparation, of which three were prepared using the concentric circle and five using the linear method. There was no significant difference in the efficacy in achieving asepsis of either method. Four of 10 bacterial isolates remaining after surgery were resistant to chlorhexidine; two were resistant to chlorhexidine at the concentration at which it was used for skin preparation. Chlorhexidine resistance is a risk factor for the presence of bacteria post-preparation.

Author(s)

Nicola Swales BSc (Hons), RVN

Nicola graduated from the University of Bristol in 2015 with a degree in Veterinary Nursing and Bioveterinary Science. She started working as a dermatology nurse at University of Bristol after graduating and is involved in both clinical work and teaching of veterinary nursing and veterinary science students.

Email: nicola.swales@bristol.ac.uk

Tristan Cogan BSc (Hons), PhD

Tristan is a Senior Lecturer in Infectious Disease at the University of Bristol. After his PhD at the University of Exeter he worked on zoonotic diseases in humans for the Health Protection Agency for a number of years before moving to Bristol to study infectious diseases of animals.

Keywords: Clinical, Skin preparation, Asepsis 

To cite this article: Veterinary Nursing Journal • VOL 32 (08) • August 2017 pp224-227

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