Elsevier

European Urology

Volume 68, Issue 3, September 2015, Pages 345-347
European Urology

Platinum Opinion
Chlorhexidine: A New Latex?

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eururo.2015.04.040Get rights and content

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Case study

A 73-yr-old man underwent transurethral resection of the prostate under spinal anaesthesia. He had 3 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine (Marcaine Heavy; AstraZeneca, London, UK) administered intrathecally. Block was achieved at T10, and he was transferred to theatre. Systolic blood pressure was 120–130 mm Hg with a heart rate (HR) of 70 beats per minute (bpm). He was given a bolus of 160 mg gentamicin intravenously. Instillagel (lidocaine hydrochloride 2 g/100 g and chlorhexidine gluconate 0.25 g/100 mg;

Discussion

Antisepsis changed the face of modern medicine, but universal precautions were introduced only in 1985 with the advent of the AIDS epidemic. Latex gloves and topical disinfectants were an essential part of those measures [1].

Accidental discovery of CHX [2] (Fig. 1) during a quest for a new antimalarial was the beginning of a true success story. This broad-spectrum biocide with a kill rate faster than other antiseptics became available in the United Kingdom as early as 1954. In 1981, the first

Conflicts of interest

The authors have nothing to disclose.

References (11)

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