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National Infection Prevention and Control Manual

National Infection Prevention and Control Manual

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Update to Surgical Hand Antisepsis Literature Review and related NIPCM content

21 Jul 2023

Following stakeholder feedback the Surgical Hand Antisepsis Literature Review has been revisited and updated.

Amended recommendation:

The following recommendation was clarified to align with the Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended practice.

  • Surgical scrubbing using an antimicrobial surgical scrub product should be used for the first surgical hand antisepsis of the day.

Removed recommendation:

A recommendation was removed from the section ‘What is the correct process and technique for surgical hand antisepsis?’ as it does not form part of the surgical rubbing process.

  • Hands should be washed with non-antimicrobial liquid soap and thoroughly dried after donning theatre clothing.

Updates to NIPCM:

Section 1.2 of the NIPCM has been amended to take consideration of these amendments.

Appendix 3 - Surgical Scrubbing and Appendix 4 - Surgical Rubbing have been updated to reflect these changes