Trial reportHuman vaccines & immunotherapeutics2019
Effect of alcohol skin cleansing on vaccination-associated infections and local skin reactions: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Reducing distress during vaccine injections: 2026 clinical practice guideline update.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2026Guideline
- Injection site abscesses associated with commensal and environmental bacteria following intramuscular vaccination in horses.Veterinary and animal science · 2025Article
- Antisepsis before skin injections: does the WHO recommendation for washing, instead alcohol-based antisepsis, achieve the same efficacy?GMS hygiene and infection control · 2025Article
- Omission of alcohol skin cleansing and risk of adverse events in long-term care residents undergoing COVID-19 vaccination: A cohort study.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2024Article
- Investigating Osteomyelitis as a Rare Adverse Effect of Vaccination in the Pediatric Population.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Minimizing shoulder injury related to vaccine administration.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2022Article
- COVID-19 Vaccination Delivery in Long-Term-Care using the CARD (Comfort Ask Relax Distract) System: Mixed Methods study of Implementation Drivers.Canadian journal of pain = Revue canadienne de la douleur · 2022Article
- Factors That Affect Symptoms of Injection Site Infection among Japanese Patients Who Self-Inject Insulin for Diabetes.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Article
- A rare case of cellulitis after tetanus toxoid (TT) vaccination.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesRecommendations regarding the need to use alcohol prior to vaccine injections are inconsistent and based on low-level evidence. The objective was to assess the effectiveness of alcohol in reducing local skin reactions and infection post-vaccination.
methodsRandomized controlled trial in a pediatric clinic. A research assistant cleansed the skin with alcohol at (swab group) or adjacent to (control group) the pre-defined injection site(s). Clinicians, parents and children were blinded to group allocation. Parents reported local skin reactions using paper diaries for 15 days post-vaccination (Day 0-14). Telephone interviews were conducted Day 1, 5, and 14. The Brighton Collaboration criteria were used to diagnose cellulitis and infectious abscess Day 5 and afterward.
results170 children participated (May-November 2017). Baseline characteristics did not differ (p > 0.05) between groups. Children received 1-4 separate injections. There were no differences between swab and control groups in the incidence of any local skin reactions (58% vs. 54%), and specifically, pain (45% vs. 40%), redness (26% vs. 21%), swelling (20% vs. 13%), warmth (19% vs. 27%), and spontaneous drainage of pus (0% in both groups) over the post-vaccination follow-up period. Day 5 data was available for 99% of participants from diaries and telephone surveys; there were no cases of cellulitis or infectious abscess.
conclusionThese findings are the first direct evidence for vaccine injections demonstrating that cleansing the skin with alcohol may not be needed. Our study is underpowered; however, to detect a difference in incidence of skin infection, future research is recommended.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.