Abstract:
Background: Skin is the largest organ in the body where microorganisms reside, potentially
producing detrimental effects if introduced into the body through invasive medical procedures.
Healthcare-associated infections due to poor hand hygiene have shown 19% prevalence in Sri
Lanka. Therefore, proper asepsis is necessary to avoid infections before an invasive medical
procedure.
Objectives: To assess practices on the use of skin antiseptics prior to an invasive medical
procedure among healthcare professionals in all provinces of Sri Lanka.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 210 healthcare
professionals, including medical practitioners, surgeons, medical laboratory technicians and
nurses from government and private hospitals and MOH offices. Data were collected using a
pre-tested questionnaire in Google form. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics
utilizing IBM SPSS version 25.0.
Results: Among the participants, 56.7% (n=119) were females, while the mean (SD) age was
40 (±13). The majority of participants, 87.1% (n=183), used 70% alcohol as a skin antiseptic
regularly, while 40% (n=84) agreed that chlorhexidine was a better antiseptic than other
antiseptics commonly used in Sri Lanka. The use of chlorhexidine was extremely low. The
motive for selecting skin antiseptics was stated as both availability and requirement by 32.9%
(n=69). When the characteristics of antiseptics were assessed, 34.8% (n=73) stated that
chlorhexidine was active against a wide range of organisms, 87.1% (n=183) stated that 70%
alcohol had the fastest onset of action, and 70.5% (n=148) of participants stated that povidone iodine was active against a broad range of organisms. According to 76.2% (n=160) of
participants, a doctor wearing a sterile gown and gloves showed antiseptic procedure used in Sri
Lanka is adequate and up to standard.
Conclusions: This study highlights the need to improve the existing skin antiseptic procedures
to further reduce the rate of surgical site infections and other socio-economic burdens caused by
infections.
