Abstract
BACKGROUND: Alcohol-based surgical hand scrubs are a safe, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective alternative to traditional water-based hand antisepsis, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO). These advantages make alcohol-based hand scrubs ideal for various plastic and reconstructive surgery settings. This study evaluates the potential financial savings of transitioning to alcohol-based surgical scrubs within a division of plastic and reconstructive surgery.
METHODS: Data was collected from a division of plastic and reconstructive surgery at a single institution. Water consumption for traditional surgical hand scrub was measured according to WHO guidelines. Water costs were calculated based on the Boston Water and Sewer Commission rates. The costs of alcohol solution and impregnated brushes were obtained from the hospital's perioperative services. Annual surgical volume data were used to estimate water consumption and consumable costs. Time savings were calculated based on WHO protocols and converted into cost savings.
RESULTS: The average water consumption per scrub was 7.62 L, with an average of 36.17 L used per surgery. If every plastic surgery procedure used traditional wet scrubs, the annual water consumption would be 87,233.76 L. The cost of water per scrub was $0.05. The consumable cost per scrub was $0.20 for alcohol-based scrubs and $0.52 for wet scrubs. Annually, transitioning to alcohol-based scrubs would save $3090.96 in consumable costs. Adopting waterless scrubs and decreasing scrub time could result in savings of $1316,445.48 annually in our division.
CONCLUSION: Transitioning to alcohol-based surgical hand scrub in plastic and reconstructive surgery may provide significant environmental and economic benefits.