Chlorhexidine-alcohol outperforms iodine solutions in preventing surgical infections

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 14 randomized controlled trials demonstrated that chlorhexidine-alcohol significantly reduces the incidence of post-operative surgical site infections (SSIs) compared to aqueous/alcoholic iodine solutions (risk ratio 0.30). This effectiveness spans various surgical procedures, with specific RR values of 0.25 for general surgery, 0.47 for cesarean sections, and 0.47 for other operations like neurosurgery and orthopedics. Chlorhexidine-alcohol yielded consistent results across the examined studies.