Standard precautions

Skin antisepsis

What to know

Skin antiseptics are widely used in healthcare settings during invasive or skin penetrating medical procedures. The aim of skin antisepsis is to reduce the number of transient and resident bacteria from the skin through a combination of mechanical removal, chemical killing and inhibition to prevent the patient developing a healthcare associated infection (HAI).

Invasive or skin penetration procedures can cause various complications, including healthcare associated infections. The risk of infection associated with invasive, or skin penetration procedures is significantly reduced when healthcare staff comply with evidenced-based practice and recommendations for skin antisepsis.

About this guideline

The Skin antisepsis for invasive procedures – infection prevention and control including medication safety principles guideline (PDF 635 kB) provide the key practice points for using skin antiseptics during invasive or skin penetrating medical procedures.

The recommendations contained in this guideline do not pertain to neonatal infants who have received uninterrupted care in a neonatal intensive and/or special care unit since birth. Please refer to your local facility policies/guidelines and the neonatal Queensland Clinical Guidelines for recommendations regarding the care of neonatal patients. Clinical decisions for this population must be made in consultation with a neonatologist.

Clinician quick reference

Clinician quick reference guide for skin antisepsis.

Clinician quick reference guide for skin antisepsis (PDF 146 kB)

Implementation

The following resources have been developed to assist with implementing the guideline locally.

Make the right choice (PDF 197 kB)

Information for consumers

Skin antisepsis - Patient and consumer guide (PDF 201 kB)

Evidence statement

The content on this page is informed by the Guideline document Skin antisepsis for invasive procedures – infection prevention and control including medication safety principles guideline (PDF 635 kB). As such, it is not directly referenced for ease of reading. Extensive detail on the evidence base and key recommendations can be found in the Guideline document, which is fully referenced Skin antisepsis for invasive procedures – infection prevention and control including medication safety principles and guidelines.