BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS Chlorhexidine Compared with Povidone-Iodine as Skin Preparation before Blood Culture A Randomized, Controlled Trial

iodine for care of catheter sites, but it is not known whether chlorhexidine is superior in reducing blood cul-ture contamination. Objective: To determine whether alcoholic chlorhexidine is a more effective skin antiseptic for collection of blood cultures than aqueous povidone-iodine. Design: Randomized, controlled trial. Setting: Three adult intensive care units in a French uni-versity hospital. Patients: 403 adults who had at least one blood culture drawn through a peripheral vein. Interventions: Patients were randomly assigned to re-ceive skin preparation with an aqueous solution of 10% povidone-iodine or an alcoholic solution of 0.5 % chlor-hexidine before phlebotomy