Pre-op kit to reduce surgical infections

In the fight against surgical site infections (SSIs), two companies—3M, St. Paul, Minn., and Sage Products, Cary, Ill.—have joined forces to create a pre-op antiseptic kit that targets three main reservoirs of bacteria. The patient’s own bacteria cause most SSIs, and the Nose to Toes™ kit reduces bacteria from the nose, mouth and skin that may eventually infect the wound. The kit includes 3M skin and nasal antiseptic, which reduces bacteria in the nose in an hour and maintains the reduction for 12 hours or more; 3M Peridex Oral Rinse and Sage® Ultra-soft Toothbrush to reduce mouth bacteria; and Sage two-percent Chlorhexidine Gluconate Cloths to prep the skin. The quick and easy pre-op kit, and other infection-control measures, could eliminate many SSIs, which result in 3.7 million additional hospitalization days and annual overall costs of $1.6 billion in the U.S. alone.