CareFusion Expands Skin Antisepsis Portfolio

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- CareFusion (NYSE: CFN), a leading, global medical device company, has announced it has entered into an agreement with Healthpoint, Ltd. to market and sell innovative surgical scrub solutions, including Surgicept® Waterless Surgical Hand Scrub, Triseptin® Water-Aided Surgical Scrub and Triseptin® Hand and Body Antiseptic.

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The license agreement gives CareFusion exclusive rights to sell the products in the United States (U.S.). With the addition of these products to its infection prevention product portfolio, which includes the patient preoperative skin antiseptic ChloraPrep® (2 percent chlorhexidine gluconate/70 percent isopropyl alcohol) and surgical clippers, CareFusion now offers a more comprehensive package of clinically proven products and technologies to help reduce the risk of health care-associated infections (HAIs) related to surgical procedures.

It has been established that HAIs can be reduced with proper hand antisepsis by health care professionals prior to surgery, which limits the transfer of potentially harmful microorganisms to the skin of their patients.(1) Recommendations and guidelines, including those from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), state that health care professionals should clean their hands with an alcohol-based antimicrobial solution prior to patient contact or putting on gloves. However, adherence to these guidelines is lower than it should be; studies have shown an average compliance rate of 40 percent.(1) According to the CDC, poor compliance is due to multiple factors, including perceived lack of time and irritation or dryness caused by the antiseptic.

"To reduce the risk of infection, clinical evidence and practice recommendations clearly state the importance of disinfecting the patient's and the health care professional's skin prior to any surgical procedure," said Jason Strohm, vice president and general manager, CareFusion Infection Prevention. "With ChloraPrep for patient skin and Surgicept for the hands of surgical health care workers, we now offer a comprehensive line of clinically proven products to help reduce the risk of HAIs at their source: the skin."  

Meeting Customer Needs

A recently conducted study of health care professionals showed the ingredients and formulation of Surgicept may address some of the factors related to the failure to adhere to surgical hand scrub protocols. In this study, OR health care professionals were blindfolded and asked to separately apply two different waterless surgical hand hygiene products, Surgicept® Waterless Surgical Hand Scrub and Avagard® Surgical Hand Antiseptic, and rate them on a series of attributes. Nearly 80 percent of the surgeons and OR staff preferred Surgicept to Avagard, the current leading waterless surgical hand antiseptic.(2) Participants found Surgicept to be significantly more appealing and noted its soft, smooth feel and quick drying time. In addition to overall preference, more participants favored Surgicept on specific attributes that could have a positive effect on compliance, including easier gloving, quicker dry time, less residue on the skin and an easier application process.

"We developed the Surgicept formulation to address the complaints from surgical staff about the feel, longer drying time and stickiness of current surgical scrub products," said Shanta M. Modak, Ph.D., research scientist, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY and inventor of Surgicept. "I believe that Surgicept will make hand hygiene more comfortable for health care professionals and therefore has the potential to increase compliance."

Acquired by Healthpoint in October 2005, Surgicept offers health care professionals a waterless, brushless, effective and convenient surgical hand scrub. It doesn't leave a sticky residue, goes on easily, dries quickly and feels smooth on the skin – characteristics that surgeons and OR staff say they want in a surgical scrub.

"When we introduced Surgicept more than four years ago, we knew we had an excellent product that met clinicians' needs," said Travis Baugh, Healthpoint President and COO. "With CareFusion's portfolio of outstanding products, and depth and breadth of its sales force, more hospitals and health care professionals will have easy access to the benefits of Surgicept."

About Surgicept®

Surgicept is an effective waterless surgical hand antiseptic. Its unique patented formulation is proven to meet and exceed FDA requirements for surgical hand scrubs. Surgicept kills 99.99 percent of bacteria in vitro in 15 seconds and requires only a two minute scrub protocol.(3) Surgicept dries quickly and unlike other surgical scrubs, it leaves no sticky, tacky build up or greasy residue, which makes it easier to glove and eliminates glove slippage or the need to towel dry. The unique, patented formulation of Surgicept also includes emollients to counter the drying affects of alcohol.

About Triseptin®

Triseptin Water Aided Surgical Scrub and Triseptin Hand and Body Antiseptic are alcohol-based antiseptics that work with water to remove dirt and microorganisms when used prior to surgical procedures. Triseptin Water-Aided Surgical Scrub can be used with a brush or water alone, providing skin-conditioning benefits and antimicrobial protection. Triseptin Hand and Body Antiseptic, when used twice before surgery per label instructions, significantly reduces the number of microorganisms on the skin.

About ChloraPrep®

ChloraPrep patient preoperative skin preparation - a combination of 2 percent chlorhexidine gluconate and 70 percent isopropyl alcohol - is a proven antiseptic designed to prepare patients' skin for a broad range of major and minor surgical procedures by reducing the number of microorganisms on the skin.  The efficacy and safety of ChloraPrep for skin antisepsis are supported by more than 35 clinical studies and recommendations by 18 internationally recognized organizations or guidelines, including 11 that specifically recommend 2 percent chlorhexidine – a key ingredient in ChloraPrep.

About CareFusion Corporation

CareFusion (NYSE: CFN) is a global corporation serving the health care industry with products and services that help hospitals measurably improve patient care. The company develops market-leading technologies including Alaris® IV pumps, Pyxis® automated dispensing and patient identification systems, AirLife™, AVEA® and LTV® series of ventilators and respiratory products, ChloraPrep® skin prep products, MedMined™ services for infection surveillance, V. Mueller® and Snowden-Pencer® surgical instruments and NeuroCare diagnostic products. CareFusion employs more than 15,000 people across its global operations. More information may be found at www.carefusion.com.

(1) CDC. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Settings. October 25, 2002, Vol. 51, No. RR-16.

(2) Surgical Scrub Comparison Quantitative Market Research. Bernstein-Rein, 2010.

(3) Surgicept Technical Bulletin on file, CareFusion Corporation.

SOURCE CareFusion Corp.