In the June 2014 publication on PubMed titled "Incidence of infection after Mohs micrographic and dermatologic surgery before and after implementation of new sterilization guidelines," researchers investigated the impact of revised sterilization protocols on surgical site infections (SSIs) in Mohs micrographic and dermatologic surgeries.
The study was conducted over a ten-year period, spanning from 2003 to 2013, at a single academic medical center's CSSD department. The researchers focused on two distinct periods: pre-guidelines (2003-2008) and post-guidelines (2009-2013), with the new sterilization guidelines being implemented in 2009.
The study analyzed a total of 4,687 surgical procedures during both periods. Prior to the guidelines update, the SSI rate was found to be 2.5%, while post-guidelines implementation resulted in a significantly lower SSI rate of 1.3%. Furthermore, the researchers discovered that the use of liquid chemical sterilants decreased from 79% (pre-guidelines) to 48% (post-guidelines).
The new sterilization guidelines emphasized the use of vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) as the primary method for sterilizing surgical instruments. The authors reported that the adoption of VHP led to a reduction in SSIs, potentially due to its effectiveness in eliminating bacteria and spores that liquid chemical sterilants may have missed.
The study findings suggest that implementing updated sterilization guidelines can contribute to a decrease in surgical site infections, as observed in Mohs micrographic and dermatologic surgeries. The authors call attention to the importance