Is isopropyl alcohol swabbing before injection really necessary?

C. B. Del Mar; P. P. Glasziou; A. B. Spinks; S. L. Sanders

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2001.tb143279.x

Is isopropyl alcohol swabbing before injection really necessary?

C. B. Del Mar^*
, P. P. Glasziou
, A. B. Spinks
, S. L. Sanders

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Short survey › Research › peer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A patient having her skin swabbed before an intramuscular injection asked her general practitioner "What is the value of cleaning the skin like that? This prompted the GP to wonder whether sterilising the skin for one to three seconds with 70 % isopropyl alcohol conferred any benefit. He wanted to know if it actually prevented sepsis at the site of injection.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	306
Number of pages	1
Journal	Medical Journal of Australia
Volume	174
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326-5377.2001.tb143279.x
Publication status	Published - 19 Mar 2001
Externally published	Yes

Access to Document

10.5694/j.1326-5377.2001.tb143279.x

Cite this

@article{98c73b8ad84c46db8ea40a4bb3a93ea1,

title = "Is isopropyl alcohol swabbing before injection really necessary?",

abstract = "A patient having her skin swabbed before an intramuscular injection asked her general practitioner {"}What is the value of cleaning the skin like that? This prompted the GP to wonder whether sterilising the skin for one to three seconds with 70 \% isopropyl alcohol conferred any benefit. He wanted to know if it actually prevented sepsis at the site of injection.",

author = "\{Del Mar\}, \{C. B.\} and Glasziou, \{P. P.\} and Spinks, \{A. B.\} and Sanders, \{S. L.\}",

year = "2001",

month = mar,

day = "19",

doi = "10.5694/j.1326-5377.2001.tb143279.x",

language = "English",

volume = "174",

pages = "306",

journal = "Medical Journal of Australia",

issn = "0025-729X",