deaths continue in their present ratio to be, as they are, the reproach of our art. Attempts more or less successful to prevent them by means of antiseptics are not new. Already the literature on antiseptics in midwifery, although not so bulky as in surgery, is yet by no means inconsiderable. Antiseptics and disinfectants have long been employed in obstetric practice; but of recent years, since...

Quality of care is a critical requirement for wound healing and 'good' care of wounds has been synonymous with topical prevention and management of microbial contamination. Topical antiseptics are antimicrobial agents that kill, inhibit or reduce the number of microorganisms and are thought to be essential for wounds infection control. However, they have long and commonly been used on wounds to...

BACKGROUND Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is defined as the occurrence of pneumonia in patients receiving mechanical ventilation for more than 48 h after endotracheal intubation. The implementation of effective oral care with antiseptics may reduce the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia. However, previous studies have been unclear about the best antiseptic for this purpose. The...

Background: Antiseptics are commonly used for personal hygiene in Taiwan. We have previously reported a series of ichthyosiform irritant contact dermatitis induced by cetrimide-containing antiseptics. Objectives: To report a new series of antiseptics-induced ichthyosiform irritant contact dermatitis and bring attention to the potential irritation effects of antiseptics. Methods: We reviewed the...

BACKGROUND Whether oral antiseptics could reduce the risk of ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) in patients receiving mechanical ventilation remains controversial. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the effect of oral care with antiseptics on the prevalence of ventilator associated pneumonia in adult critically ill patients. METHODS A comprehensive search of PubMed, Embase and Web of S...

There is no straight line to trace the trajectory of antiseptics; rather, this has been manifested more as a fluctuating line, a backwards and forwards movement, seen in the wake of major discoveries but of colossal mistakes too. While today no one would allow their prophylactic policies to be guided by miasma or contagia, there continues to be some uncertainly about how to manage anti-infectiv...

Iodine antiseptics exhibit superior antimicrobial efficacy and do not cause acquired microbial resistance. However, they are underused in comparison with antibiotics in infection treatments, partly because of their adverse effects such as pain and allergy. The cause of these noxious effects is not fully understood, and no specific molecular targets or mechanisms have been discovered. In this st...

BACKGROUND The study objective was to assess the available data on efficacy and tolerability of antiseptics and disinfectants in treating bacterial vaginosis (BV). METHODS A systematic search was conducted by consulting PubMed (1966-2010), CINAHL (1982-2010), IPA (1970-2010), and the Cochrane CENTRAL databases. Clinical trials were searched for by the generic names of all antiseptics and disi...

The comparative resistance of bacteria and human tissue cells to antiseptics and other chemicals may be easily tested by tissue cultures under conditions which approximate those found in the living body. A comparative study shows that while human cells (connective tissue and wandering cells) are highly resistant to many antiseptics, they are in general more easily killed than bacteria (Staphylo...

„ Increasing bacterial resistance to antibiotics makes the management of superficial skin infections a major medical challenge. Antiseptics have broader spectrums of antimicrobial activity and a reduced potential for selection of bacterial resistance, relative to antibiotics. Consequently, antiseptics are appropriate alternatives to antibiotics for the prevention and treatment of superficial sk...