Evaluation of the effect of TWO different hair removal methods prior to surgery on surgical site i̇nfections

INTRODUCTION and OBJECTİVE: The study was conducted as a prospective, randomized controlled, single blind study to assess the effect of two different hair removal methods on surgical site infections before surgery. MATERIALS and METHOD: The study population consisted of patients undergoing cardiac pacemaker surgery between 30.05.2015 and 30.03.2016 at a university hospital coronary angiography unit in Kocaeli. The sample of the research consisted of 114 male patients; 61 patients from the treatment group shaved with electric shavers and 53 patients from the control group shaved with razor blades. Patients were monitored on the 7th, 30th, and 90th days during their stay in the hospital and after their discharge, with forms of descriptive characteristics, surgical site specific information, and surgical site infection patterns. Percentage, median, chi square test was used in the evaluation of the data. FINDINGS: It was observed that all the patients in the treatment group (100%; n=61) had no surgical site infection and there was only one patient in the control group that developed surgical site infection on the 6th postoperative day (%1.9, n=1), and the statistical evaluation revealed an insignificant difference between the two groups (p>0,05; p=0,465). When other risk factors that may cause surgical site infection development such as age, smoking, presence of diabetes, immunodeficiency, malignancy, duration of preoperative stay, duration of intensive care stay, duration of postoperative stay, past pacemaker surgery and type of surgical procedure performed, usage of corticosteroid or immunosuppressive drugs are examined; it was noted that there was no significant difference regarding the presence of any infections in the remote area. CONCLUSION: Although there is no significant difference between the treatment and control groups in the study, as indicated in evidence-based approaches, it is supported that the use of an electric shaver in (body) hair cleaning will lead to less surgical field infections than a razor blade. Key Words: electric clippers, hair removal, surgical site infection, pacemaker, razor