Antimicrobial activity of Iranian

 Introduction: "SilvoSept" is a new product, suggested as an alternative solution instead of povidone iodine for hand scrub before surgery. The objective of study was the comparison between these two substances regarding their antiseptic properties and utilities. Materials and Methods: In a quasi-experimental study, selected participants from surgical team members of Amir Hospital in Semnan were participated to scrub their hands with SilvoSept and povidone iodine, in two separate times. Dominant hand was sampled 3 times to get microbial cultures: before scrubbing, after drying, and after an hour. Participants were asked about each solution's utilities. Results: Thirty-three participants scrubbed for 29 and 33 times with povidone iodine and SilvoSept respectively. There was no difference between two groups in positive culture frequencies before washing (p = 0.7), and an hour later (p = 0.5). Immediately after washing, there was no positive case. Although there was no difference between the two in terms of willingness (p = 0.7) and bad odor (p = 0.3), due to having adverse impact on the skin (p = 0.04) and bad color (p = 0.03) participants preferred SilvoSept. Conclusion: The findings not only confirmed the antimicrobial effectiveness of the SilvoSept, and its equality with povidone iodine on willingness of applying, but also showed its superiority to povidone iodine because of its lower adverse effects on skin as well as its better color. SilvoSept can be suggested as an effective, acceptable and affordable alternative