Type of shaving impacts body image in elective cranial sx

(HealthDay)—For patients undergoing elective cranial surgery, the rate of surgical site infections is similar for regional and strip hair shaving, but regional shaving negatively affects patient body image, according to a study published in the July issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

Gulsah Kose, R.N., Ph.D., from Gulhane Military Medical Academy in Ankara, Turkey, and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled study involving 200 patients who underwent elective cranial surgery. For the preoperative preparation and follow-up of surgical site infection, they applied U.S., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria. Four wound swab cultures were obtained from all patients. Changes in the body image of patients were examined using the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale.

The researchers found that for each group, and for all patients, the rate of surgical site infection was 1 percent, with no between-group differences. In swab cultures, Coagulase-negative staphylococci and Staphylococcus epidermidis were most frequently isolated. Patients who underwent strip shaving had a decrease in Social Appearance Anxiety Scale score, while there was an increase in patients who underwent regional shaving.

"There is no difference between strip shaving and regional shaving in the development of surgical site infection after cranial surgery," the authors write. "In addition, regional hair shaving negatively affects the patients' body image."

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