Objective: To compare chlorhexidine-alcohol and povidone-iodine in terms of frequency of surgical site infection when applied prior to surgical incision in clean contaminated cases. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial. Place and Duration of Study: Department of General Surgery, Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi from Feb 2014 to Feb 2015. Material and Methods: Eight hundred and forty consecutive patients undergoing abdominal surgery, who fulfilled inclusion criteria, were included in this study after taking written informed consent. They were divided into two equal groups of 420 patients each. In "group A" chlorhexidine alcohol and in "group B" povidone iodine was used for skin preparation. Results: Rate of surgical site infection was significantly low 8.6% in chlorhexidine alcohol group as compared to 13.8% in povidone iodine group (p=0.016). Conclusion: Chlorhexidine alcohol solution is superior to povidone iodine in reducing surgical site infection when used for preparing skin before surgery in clean contaminated cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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