Does the Disinfection of the Subcutaneous Tissue Reduce the Contamination of the Operative Field by P. Acnes During Primary Shoulder Surgery?

Propionibacterium acnes is a pathogen frequently identified during postoperative infections of the shoulder. A recent study has shown that P. acnes is likely to be disseminated in the operative field from the subcutaneous layer by soft tissue manipulation by the surgeon and the instruments (Falconer 2016). This study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of subcutaneous tissue disinfection on P. acnes contamination during primary shoulder surgery. The literature shows that approximately one-third of patients have a P. acnes-infected surgical drape during primary shoulder arthroplasty (Falconer 2016). The source of this contamination would be the subcutaneous tissue. The hypothesis is that a disinfection of the subcutaneous tissue would reduce the contamination of the operative field with the aim of reducing the infection rate after shoulder surgery.