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The document outlines responsibilities for surgical teams, including following surgeon preoperative orders, using antiseptic bathing instructions, conducting allergy interviews and documentation, and establishing environment and agent decisions based on identified 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the Surgical Patient  \nIntroduction  \nThe following Standards of Practice were researched and authored by the AST Education and Professional Standards Committee and have been approved by the AST Board of Directors. They are effective October 20, 2008.  \nAST developed the Standards of Practice to support healthcare facilities in the reinforcement of best practices related to the patient skin preparation (henceforth in this document referred to as the “skin prep”) in the perioperative setting. The purpose of the Recommended Standards is to provide an outline that surgical team members can use to develop and implement polices and procedures for skin prep. The Standards are presented with the understanding that it is the responsibility of the healthcare facility to develop, approve, and establish policies and procedures for skin prep according to established healthcare facility protocols.  \nRationale  \nThe following are Standards of Practice related to skin prep in the perioperative setting. The skin prep is part of the daily patient care routine of the Certified Surgical Technologist (CST) and Certified Surgical First Assistant (CSFA) in the OR. The majority of surgical site infections (SSIs) are caused by the entry of the patient’s own microbial flora into the surgical wound. Since the patient’s skin cannot be sterilized, skin prep is performed. Skin prep aids in preventing SSIs by removing debris from, and cleansing, the skin, bringing the resident and transient microbes to an irreducible minimum, and hindering the growth of microbes during the surgical procedure.1  \nAll surgical team members should be involved in the process of developing and implementing healthcare facility policies and procedures for the patient skin prep.  \nStandard of Practice I  \nThe patient and surgical team members should follow the surgeon’s preoperative orders. Additionally, preoperative preparations by the surgical team should be completed.  \n1. The surgeon’s orders may include the patient taking a bath or showering with an antiseptic agent the night before surgery and/or the morning of surgery.  \nA. The CDC recommends requiring patients to bathe or shower with an antiseptic agent the night before surgery.4  \nB. If chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) is to be used, the following instructions should be provided to the patient:  \n(1) CHG is inactivated by soaps and shampoos. The patient must make sure the soap and shampoo is thoroughly rinsed off prior to using CHG.  \n(2) CHG is an eye irritant and can burn the corneas as well as being ototoxic. The patient should be instructed to be very careful and to keep CHG from entering eyes and ears.  \n(3) The patient should be instructed not to use a body lotion after bathing or showering with CHG. The body lotion will inactivate the residual bacteriostatic effects of CHG.11  \n2. The preoperative patient interview should include asking the patient if she/he has any known allergies, as well as a review of the patient’s history and physical.  \nA. If the information gathered from the interview, history and physical indicate the patient is allergic to shellfish, may which contain iodine, anon-iodine prep solution should be used. The information already indicates the patient being allergic to iodine due to prior exposure.  \nB. If the information indicates the patient has allergies to strawberries, bananas, kiwis, or poinsettias, which contain elements of latex, it should be documented that the patient is latex allergic. The information may already indicate the patient being latex allergic due to prior exposure. The shave and skin prep will need to be performed in a latex-free OR environment.  \nC. If the patient indicates an allergy or allergies to particular antimicrobial solution(s), this should be indicated in the patient chart, on the cover of the patient chart, and on the patient allergy wrist band to be worn on the day of surgery. Latex allergy should be indicated in the sam","cbCaiv0NcyHCW7iP","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiv0NcyHCW7iP","pdf",53541,12,"English","# Introduction\n# Rationale\n# Standard of Practice I\n## Follow surgeon preoperative orders and complete team preparations\n## Patient antiseptic bathing with CHG guidance\n## Preoperative patient interview and allergy documentation\n## Hair removal considerations (shave prep)","[{\"question\":\"What is the purpose of AST Standards of Practice for skin prep?\",\"answer\":\"The purpose is to give surgical team members an outline to develop and implement policies and procedures for patient skin preparation in the perioperative setting to reinforce best practices.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is skin prep important for preventing surgical site infections?\",\"answer\":\"Skin prep removes debris and cleanses the skin, reducing resident and transient microbes to an irreducible minimum and hindering microbial growth during the procedure.\"},{\"question\":\"What should surgical teams do regarding patient instructions for chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG)?\",\"answer\":\"Teams should ensure patients understand CHG is inactivated by soaps and shampoos and must be kept out of eyes and ears, and patients should not apply body lotion after CHG bathing/showering to avoid inactivating residual effects.\"}]","AST Standards of Practice for Skin Prep of the Surgical Patient | PDF",1790531214]