Joseph Lister and the performance of antiseptic surgery

Worboys, Michael

doi:10.1098/rsnr.2013.0028

Cited by 57 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…30 Lister's intellectual contributions to the surgical literature were revolutionary, but his active participation in surgical education was arguably the driving force that spread antisepsis across Europe and North America. 39 A devout professor, Lister traveled extensively in Europe, Canada, the United States, Jamaica, and South Africa, lecturing and putting his principles into practice so surgeons could emulate his system. [40][41][42] In addition, his surgical trainees spread Listerian principles worldwide wherever they worked after leaving Edinburgh.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbolic Acid before Joseph Lister: Rail Ties, Sewage, Manure, and the Great Stink

Ehrhardt

Nakayama

O’Leary

2020

The American Surgeon

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Before Joseph Lister's landmark Lancet publications on the use of carbolic acid wound dressings in 1867, surgeons Jules Lemaire in France and Enrico Bottini in Italy had already used carbolic acid on hundreds of patients to control suppurative wounds. After Friedlieb Runge isolated it from coal tar in 1834, a number of scientists recognized the efficacy of carbolic acid in preventing decay and neutralizing the stench of dead animals and human cadavers. Frederick Calvert, Alexander McDougall, and Angus Smith in Manchester promoted a powdered form of carbolic acid as a deodorizing agent to treat municipal sewage across the United Kingdom, most notably during London's famous “Great Stink” of 1858. Edmond Corne in France introduced his formulation, which Alfred-Armand-Louis-Marie Velpeau, Ferdinand LeBeuf, and Lemaire adapted for clinical use in 1859. Lemaire wrote extensively on carbolic acid and its surgical application in three publications from 1860 to 1862. In 1866, Bottini published his experience of 600 cases where it was used. In 1865, Lister began to use carbolic acid in open fractures after Thomas Anderson, his colleague in agricultural chemistry at the University of Glasgow, told him about its use in Carlisle sewage works. This article traces the rich history of carbolic acid from an unknown compound in coal to the cornerstone of Listerism in late-19th–century operating rooms.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbolic Acid before Joseph Lister: Rail Ties, Sewage, Manure, and the Great Stink

Ehrhardt

Nakayama

O’Leary

2020

The American Surgeon

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“…[6] hand scrubbing has become a ritualistic practice amongst surgeons. Further, many practitioners adopt multiple methods of hand disinfection simultaneously without any demonstrable benefit of either method; but this adds to raising costs and loss of time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is a Drop of Water Worth Saving??

A¹,

Lakshman²,

Pillai³

2015

jemds

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BACKGROUND:In this era of progressive draught, a conscious effort needs to be made to conserve water. Routine scrubbing with soap and water prior to surgery is a standard for surgical disinfection. Recently waterless dry scrubbing technique using nonaqueous disinfectant, otherwise called Hand rub technique has been proposed to be an equally effective alternative. This study has attempted to find out if any differences exist between the two methods of surgical scrubbing with reference to surface flora on the surgeons hand and the rates of wound infection for the patient. METHODS: A prospective randomised study was done using a non-inferiority hypothesis comparing the efficacy of the two scrub methods. Post procedure glove Juice was cultured to look for bacterial growth. Patients were also followed up to look for wound infection. RESULTS: A total of 150 cases were included in the study conducted from October 2013 to February 2014. Ten cases were excluded as they satisfied the exclusion criteria. Among the cases studied, culture was positive in 1 of the 71 cases in the waterless dry scrub arm. No cultures were positive in the routine scrub arm. There were 3 cases of wound infection in the hand rub group and 5 cases of wound infection in the routine scrub group. CONCLUSION: No statistically significant differences exist between routine scrub and the hand rub technique with regard to flora on surgeons hand and the wound infection rates. Hence hand rub can be recommended as an effective alternative to routine scrub and conserve water.

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“…During the start of modern era of surgery, Lister and Morton discovered concepts of antisepsis and anesthesia, respectively . These advances improved survival after surgery, but more cases of incisional hernia were seen .…”

Section: History Of Ventral Herniamentioning

confidence: 99%