Donald E. Shay

A study of the effectiveness of some skin detergents under conditions of use

Abstract From a study of the antibacterial action of three clinical skin detergents under conditions of use the following suggestions are made: 1. 1. Of the three compounds tested, pHisoderm containing 3 per cent hexachlorophene is a more effective degerming agent than a compound containing Phemerol ( 2 1 2 per cent). Both of these compounds are more effective after one- and four-hour periods than a liquid soap containing hexachlorophene in the amount of 2 per cent of the soap content (36 per cent). 2. 2. A comparison of the antibacterial action of liquid soap containing 2 per cent hexachlorophene with tincture of U. S. P. green soap at half-hour intervals indicates that there is an over-all reduction of 60.6 per cent of transient and resident organisms; with liquid germicidal detergent containing 2 1 2 per cent Phenemrol a reduction of 3 per cent is noted; and with pHisoderm containing 3 per cent hexachlorophene, a reduction of 84 per cent. 3. 3. Blood agar plates held in contact with unwashed hands for ten seconds show three and one-half times more organisms than when the hands are washed with pHisoderm containing 3 per cent hexachlorophene: a mean total plate count of 93.7 with an S.D. of 78.6 as compared to the mean total plate count of the washed hands of 26.3 with an S.D. of 30.1. The methods of procedure presented here offer a practical and comparative approach to the testing of surgical detergents and are in keeping with the newer techniques of preoperative scrubbing with hexachlorophene. The over-all scrubbing time has been reduced from approximately fifteen minutes with the old technique of using liquid soap and an alcohol rinse to three minutes with pHisoderm containing hexachlorophene 3 per cent. With the latter material a marked degermation of the skin microorganisms is obtained. The results reported in this study demonstrate that by continued use of this compound containing 3 per cent hexachlorophene the dentist can obtain a greater degree of surgical cleanliness of the hands than that possible through the use of any other detergent. By following this suggested procedure the dentist can obtain a greater degree of protection to himself as well as to his patient.