Comparison of the Safety and Efficacy of Two Topical Antiseptic Products: Chlorhexidine Gluconate + Isopropyl Alcohol and Povidone- Iodine + Isopropyl Alcohol

While antiseptic products containing a combination of chlorhexidine gluconate and isopropyl alcohol (CHG+IPA) have gained in popularity over the past several years in preparing and maintaining vascular access sites, the data used to support their use over products containing povidone-iodine (PVP-I) have been based solely on comparisons of aqueous CHG or CHG+IPA to aqueous PVP-I alone. No studies have compared aqueous CHG or CHG+IPA to PVP-I+IPA or aqueous PVP-I preceded by IPA. When compared using methods established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), the safety and efficacy of PVP-I+IPA was found to be less irritating and faster acting than CHG+IPA; both PVP-I+IPA and CHG+IPA demonstrated persistence for 7 days.