The Effectiveness of Pre-operative Bath with 4% Chlorhexidine Gluconate for Prevention of Surgical Site Infection at the Universitas Sumatera Utara Hospital

Introduction: Elective surgery is a type of surgery that can be postponed or planned without endangering the patient's life. Every operation, the slightest, can pose a risk of infection. Surgical site infection (SSI) is still a global problem that can increase morbidity and mortality rates, prolong the time and cost of hospitalization. Chlorhexidine Gluconate (CHG) 4% is an antiseptic with broad-spectrum antimicrobial ability that can be used as an effort to prevent SSI. Aim: This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of preoperative antimicrobial baths using 4% CHG in an effort to prevent the incidence of SSI in Universitas Sumatera Utara hospitals. Methods: The design used in this study was a quasi-experimental method with a nonequivalent control group posttest only design method. The total sample in this study was 60 respondents according to the inclusion criteria. Bivariate analysis using Chi-square statistical test. Results: A total of 60 samples that met the research criteria were then divided into the preoperative bath intervention group with 4% CHG (n = 30) and the control group was not given any treatment (n = 30). In the preoperative bath intervention group with 4% CHG, there was no incidence of SSI, while in the control group, 5 (n=8.3%) respondents experienced SSI. Preoperative bath with 4% CHG was statistically more effective than not given preoperative bath with 4% CHG in preventing the incidence of SSI (p = 0.02). Conclusion: Preoperative bath with 4% CHG is effective in preventing SSI because 4% CHG is bactericidal, bacteriostatic, lasts a long time on the skin thereby reducing the number of bacterial colonies nine times and increasing the skin's ability to be antiseptic for longer.