How Does Hydrogen Peroxide Application to the Wound Following Surgical Incision Affect C. Acnes Cultures in Primary Shoulder Arthroplasty?

Detailed Summary

Cutibacterium acnes has been the focus of much recent shoulder literature, as it has been found to be both a common cause of periprosthetic joint infection as well as a common contaminant in shoulder surgery. Standard skin preparations have been found to be ineffective at eradicating C. acnes colonization on the skin and deep dermis of patients undergoing surgery. Recent literature has shown that skin preparation with 3% hydrogen peroxide solution is effective for decreasing the rate of cultures positive for C. acnes in both dermal and deep cultures; however, a positive rate of 10%-17% has still been reported despite this skin preparations. The current theory is that standard skin preparation does not remove C. acnes from the deep dermis which subsequently contaminates the deep tissue. We hypothesize that application of 3% hydrogen peroxide to the deep dermal layer immediately following the skin incision will even further decrease the rate of C. acnes contamination during surgery.

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