Chlorhexidine: Past, Present, and Future of the Famous Antiseptic Agent

Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. 2013; 15(4):279-285

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Journal article

Abstract

Infections caused by drug resistant pathogens are ever-increasing problem in hospital and outpatient settings. Nosocomial infections are associated with treatment failures, prolonged length of hospital stay and increased mortality. Chlorhexidine digluconate is a cationic bisguanidine developed in the UK in 1950. It was a first accepted antiseptic agent for skin and wounds worldwide. In addition to high antimicrobial activity, chlorhexidine is able to bind to different biologic substrates while preserving its antimicrobial activity and then release slowly which result in maintaining effective drug concentrations. Although an over 60-year clinical experience, there has been no evidence of resistance to chlorhexidine to date. Chlorhexidine digluconate remains one of the important antiseptic preparations for prophylaxis of nosocomial infections.

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