The aim of this study was to establish whether long-term use of chlorhexidine would prevent skin colonization by antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis. Ten nurses, working on a ward for haematological disorders, volunteered to participate in the test. They washed one arm every morning for three weeks with chlorhexidine gluconate, ('Hibiscrub' ICI Pharmaceuticals). The other arm served as a negative control. Samples from the antecubital fossa of both arms were taken two to three times a week during the wash period and two weeks thereafter, giving a total of 216 samples. The appearance of resistant S. epidermidis with different antibiograms was analysed. During the wash period the total bacterial counts and the counts of the resistant S. epidermidis strains on the test arm were both about one-tenth of those on the control arm, a significant difference (P
