Abstract

A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF PREVENTION OF SURGIAL SITE INFECTION BY DISINFECTION WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO DHOOPAN (MEDICATED FUME)

Awasthi Suhas* and Sakharkar Bhagyashri

Abstract

The word “disinfection” means destruction of all pathogenic organisms capable of causing infection. In modern science, all the invasive procedures involve contact by a medical device or surgical instruments with a patient sterile tissue or mucous membrane. In surgical aspect, disinfection is vital and primary preoperative step to avoid the surgical site infection. During the 1850s Florence Nightinagle was a pioneer and reformer of hospital sanitations method although she was unaware that bacteria are cause of infections. In the late 1860s Lister introduced the concept of asepsis into the practice of surgery and started to disinfect skin, suture material and wounds leading to a reduction in mortality after amputations. In Ayurveda, the importance of maintaining the aseptic conditions is well explained in different compendiums like Kashyapsamhita and Sushrutasamhita. Sushruta stated flaming of instruments to be used for surgery preoperatively. He also included Dhoopan means exposing post-operative wound to medicated fumes of drugs containing analgesic and antibacterial properties. He has also mentioned the isolation of patient after operative procedure in the special chamber which should be previously fumigated and also described the daily fumigation of this chamber to protect the surgical site infection. This article is written to explore all the methods of disinfection mentioned in Samhita period and their relevance in today‟s era. For this purpose all classical and modern literature and journals are searched regarding methods of disinfection to prevent surgical site infection. At the end we can say that Sushruta is the pioneer of concept of disinfection. Various methods of disinfection to prevent the surgical site infection are developed on the base of ancient concept of disinfection.

Keywords: Vranitagara, Dhoopan, Azadirachta indica, Comminiphora mukul, Brassica nigra, Flaming, fumigation.