Friday, January 31, 2020

Cutibacterium - can they be eliminated from the skin?

Addition of 3% hydrogen peroxide to standard skin preparation reduces Cutibacterium acnes–positive culture rate in shoulder surgery: a prospective randomized controlled trial

These authors sought to evaluate the effectiveness of hydrogen peroxide in reducing the levels of Cutibacteriumacnes in skin punch biopsies from the skin of the posterior shoulder.

Patients were randomized to a standard skin preparation vs. an additional sterile preparation with 3% hydrogen peroxide. After draping, a 3-mm punch biopsy was obtained from the posterior arthroscopic portal site of all patients. 

Seventy male patients were randomized into the hydrogen peroxide group and 70 male patients were in the traditional group. Twelve (17.1%) patients in the hydrogen peroxide group and 24 (34.2%) patients in the traditional group had positive cultures for C acnes (P = .033).  



Comment: However hydrogen peroxide had less effect on shoulders with more than light growth: 10 of 70 (14%)  traditional prep shoulders had moderate to heavy growth in comparison to 9 of 70 (13%) hydrogen peroxide shoulders.

It is impressive that with or without hydrogen peroxide, over 10% of the dermal biopsies were at least moderately positive in spite of (1) a skin cleanse with 2% chlorhexidine gluconate cloths, (2) IV antibiotics, (3) a skin cleanse with saturated 7.5% povidone-iodine solution surgical scrub brushes, and (4) application of 2% chlorhexidine gluconate and 70% isopropyl alcohol. 

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