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State of skin antiseptic choices in UK neonatal intensive care units in 2023
  1. Elisabeth Agathos1,2,
  2. Carla Kantyka1,
  3. Paul Clarke1,2
  1. 1 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Norwich, UK
  2. 2 Norwich Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Elisabeth Agathos, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Norwich, NR4 7UY, UK; Elisabeth.Agathos{at}nnuh.nhs.uk

https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2024-326858

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    In early 2023, two weaker-concentration chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) antiseptic products Tisept (0.015% CHG+0.15% cetrimide) and Unisept (0.05% CHG) were discontinued, leaving a dilemma regarding alternatives for very preterm babies to minimise risk of chemical injury in the first postnatal days. We therefore surveyed current antiseptic choices in the wake of their withdrawal.

    During October–December 2023, we telephoned all 54 UK neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). We asked a senior nurse/advanced neonatal nurse practitioner/doctor about type and concentration of skin antiseptic used to clean the skin prior to peripheral venous cannulation, umbilical catheterisation and percutaneous central venous catheter (PCVC) insertion. We also asked whether local practices varied according to any gestational/postnatal age cut-offs.

    We obtained responses from 54 of 54 (100%) units. Table 1 summarises the antiseptic/cleansing agents in preterm and term neonates prior to venous cannulation, PCVC and umbilical catheter insertion. Complete data, anonymised by NICU, are provided in online supplemental file 1.

    Supplemental material

    [fetalneonatal-2024-326858supp001.pdf]

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    Table 1

    Skin antiseptic/cleaning agent used prior to peripheral …

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    Footnotes

    • Twitter @drpaulclarke

    • Contributors PC and EA designed the survey. EA and CK conducted the survey and gathered the data. EA analysed the data and wrote the first manuscript draft. All authors contributed to manuscript revision and approved the final version. PC is the guarantor.

    • Funding This is a summary of independent research carried out at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Norfolk Clinical Research Facility (CRF). EA’s fellowship is partly funded by the NIHR. The authors declared no other specific grant for this research from commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Disclaimer The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.