Background: The antiseptic agent octenidine dihydrochloride (OCT) is used for skin preparation, for Staphylococcus aureus decolonization, and within bundles for the prevention of catheter-related or surgical site infections (SSIs). Here, we review the evidence for the effects of OCT from clinical studies. Methods: Review of studies published in the Medline, Scopus, and Cochrane databases until August 2022, performed in clinical settings and reporting on effects of OCT on S. aureus carriage/transmission, SSI prevention, and prevention of intensive care unit (ICU)-related or catheter-related bloodstream and insertion site infections. Results: We included 31 articles. The success of S. aureus decolonization with OCT-containing therapies ranged between 6 and 87%. Single studies demonstrated that OCT application led to a reduction in S. aureus infections, acquisition, and carriage. No study compared OCT for skin preparation before surgical interventions to other antiseptics. Weak evidence for the use of OCT for pre-operative washing was found in orthopedic and cardiac surgery, if combined with other topical measures. Mostly, studies did not demonstrate that daily OCT bathing reduced ICU-/catheter-related bloodstream infections with one exception. Conclusions: There is a need to perform studies assessing the clinical use of OCT compared with other antiseptics with respect to its effectiveness to prevent nosocomial infections.

The coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic affects all aspects of public life. Measures for infection prevention are implemented in various sectors, in businesses, as well as in private life. Public transport is important and indispensable in daily life for both children and adults. Public transport companies have to take necessary actions to protect passengers and drivers from infections. Skin contact is one of the ways of transmitting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This research study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a photocatalytic, antimicrobial active surface coating under everyday – not hospital – conditions. To date, such coatings have been used in hospitals as an additional measure to regular cleaning and disinfection in order to reduce the risk of infection. We collected samples for bacterial cultures in three classes of public transport vehicles: bus, underground, and tram. Seven different hand-contact surfaces in one vehicle of each class were coated, while the other vehicles remained uncoated. All vehicles were in regular use. The number of colony-forming bacterial units per cm2 (CFUs/cm2) was measured. A representative number of isolates were differentiated at the pathogen level. Data collected were entered into GraphPad Prism (GraphPad Software, San Diego, USA) and analyzed. Overall, no statistically significant reduction in the number of colony-forming units (CFUs) was observed for coated versus uncoated surfaces. Samples with a very high colony count (>250 CFU/25 cm2) were equally distributed in both groups, coated and uncoated vehicles. Within one vehicle type, there was no significant difference between the coated and the uncoated vehicle. No relevant infection-preventive effect could be proven.