Chlorhexidine shampooing of dogs the night before elective surgery: Are human recommendations applicable to veterinary medicine?

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of the night before surgery chlorhexidine shampooing on skin bacterial colony-forming units (CFU) in dogs. Twenty-five dogs had the right hindleg washed with chlorhexidine gluconate solution the night before sampling, the untreated left hindleg was used as a control. Colony-forming units were counted from 150 agar plates, 75 from each side. Median CFU on the treated side and the control side after clipping was 11 and 50, respectively (P = 0.01). Samples obtained after scrubbing the skin with CHXG, and after the final disinfection with alcohol showed no difference in CFU between sides. The "night before" chlorhexidine wash effectively decimated the skin surface bacterial CFU, but this effect was only evident after clipping. After the routine preoperative chlorhexidine scrubbing and alcohol disinfection no beneficial effects were proven.