Effect of Topical Antimicrobial Agents On Co-agulase-negative Staphylococci

In the Human Skin The efficacy of antimicrobial agents applied to-pically to the skin surface in eradicating coagulase-negative staphylococci (ENS) residing in the skin surface. Five antiseptic solutions (10 % povidone iodine, 2 % iodine, 2 % tincture of iodine, 70 % ethanol, and 0.5 % Chlorhexidine) were applied for 15s with a gauze sponge. The antimicrobial ointments (po-vidone-iodine. silver sulfadiazine, mupirocin, so-dium fucidate, and a double-antibiotic ointment con-taining neomycine, and bacitracin) were applied and covered for 6 th with gauze. After treatment. the surface was sampled. All agents were effective in eradicating ENS from the surface. The antiseptic solutions povidone-iodine. chlor-hexidine and tincture of iodine eradicated surface bacteria in every trial (10 of 10 each), and 2 % io-dine and 70 % ethanol eradicated bacteria from the surface in 9 and 7 of 10 trials, respectively. Four of the five antimicrobial ointments were also effective in the sterilization of the skin sur-face: 1 % silver sulfadiazine was the exception.