The patient was admitted to hospital for surgery that requires the use of a catheter. During the intervention did not show any problem. However, between 48-72 hours after the person was discomfort related to infection not suffered previously.

The story is one of many that occur in the hospitals from all over the world, a phenomenon known as nosocomial infection that occurs for various reasons. One of the most frequent is when micro-organisms found naturally in the skin of the patient beyond the protective barrier of the epidermis during a surgical procedure.

When the wound is done during the operation, however minimal, may cause inflammation in the vein, which is known as phlebitis. At present the phenomenon or primary bacteremia, when bacteria are present in blood, emerge the leading causes of nosocomial infections related to intravenous therapy in the country, according to the Hospital Network for Epidemiological Surveillance (RHOVE).

Globally, it has been recorded between 10 to 15 million nosocomial infections, which are related to deaths of about one hundred thousand people each year.

It is therefore necessary to seek the “safe surgeries and health in the hands of doctors, “said Dr. Guillermo Domínguez Cherit National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubirán.

These inoculations are associated with resident microorganisms on the skin of the same patients, as proposed by the preoperative use of a substance in the skin of the people.

“In most of the infections associated with catheters, microorganisms have been isolated from the skin of the patient and are causing the infection, and there are studies which show that the protocol for hand washing and gloves are not completed in entirely by the surgeons,” he said.

At present, before surgery is used povidone iodine, antiseptic, bactericide and fungicide, but not completely reduce bacteria, said Dr. Eduardo Reynoso Gomez, head of Hemato Oncology at the Spanish Hospital in the city of Mexico.

In this regard, the Center for Infection Control in the United States recommends the use of chlorhexidine gluconate ( ChloraPrep ) , for its antiseptic formulation reduces the number of microorganisms from the skin up to 90 %.

This was demonstrated in a study called chlorhexidine and alcohol vs  povidone-iodine in the 849 patients who participated in several research centers, and the first substance had greater bactericidal effect on superficial and deep infections of surgical wounds .

It is the result of the study shows that alcohol in combination with chlorhexidine in a few seconds to kill 99.9 % bacteria and assets continues his role 48 hours later.

This is why more than 17 organizations recognized by health authorities in the U.S., UK, Canada and France, make use of the substance in various hospitals.