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Alcohol formulations of chlorhexidine and povidone are commonly used for skin antisepsis before intravascular catheter insertion. To assess whether one is superior to the other and whether scrubbing the skin improves outcomes, investigators (with partial industry support) conducted a multicenter, open-label trial involving patients in medical and surgical intensive care units in France.
Adults requiring central-venous, hemodialysis, or arterial catheters were randomized to one of four skin-preparation groups: 2% chlorhexidine/70% isopropyl alcohol or 5% povidone iodine/69% ethanol, each with or without skin-scrubbing. Barrier precautions were used for all insertion procedures. A total of 2349 patients (5159 catheters) were included in the an…