A randomized open-label controlled trial of chlorhexidine-alcohol vs povidone-iodine for cesarean antisepsis: the CAPICA trial.

Background: Identification of optimal surgical site antisepsis preparations may reduce cesarean-related surgical site infections. Two recently published investigations examined efficacy of chlorhexidine-alcohol and iodine-alcohol preparations. No previous randomized controlled trial has compared chlorhexidine-alcohol to povidone-iodine aqueous scrub and paint in reduction of cesarean-related surgical site infection.