A simple Sharpie pen is emerging as an effective tool to prevent surgical errors and infections.

Surgeons typically use marking pens to ensure they operate on the correct part of a patient’s body. But one concern is that the germs from the pen could pose a risk for infection. As a result, many hospitals use sterile pens once and throw them away, a practice that costs thousands of dollars a year.

Infection control experts from the University of Alberta decided to study pens used to mark up surgical patients. They compared a one-use sterile surgical pen to a standard Sharpie — the brand name for a line of no-smudge permanent markers favored by everyone from autograph-writing football stars to President Bush.

In a controlled experiment, the tips of both kinds of pens were heavily contaminated with four types of bacteria that can cause surgical site infections, including two germ types that are resistant to antibiotics. The researchers recapped the markers and allowed them to sit for 24 hours.

Surprisingly, the sterile, one-use marker was still contaminated. But the Sharpies were not. As it turns out, the ink used in a Sharpie pen has an alcohol base, making it an unexpected germ fighter.

The researchers, who will present their findings at an infectious disease conference later this month, noted that they used an unusually large number of germs on the markers to conduct the experiment. That suggests that in the real world, a Sharpie would be highly effective in preventing the spread of germs even after multiple uses.

“We went much further than what would happen in real life,” said Dr. Sarah Forgie, associate professor in the department of pediatrics, in a press release.

Dr. Forgie noted that the pen itself should be cleaned with an alcohol swab between patients, just as is done with stethoscopes. However, she said the marking tip does not pose a risk of bacterial transmission and doesn’t need to be discarded after each use, potentially saving thousands of dollars in annual hospital costs.

Patients undergoing surgery should always make sure that only their surgeon — not a nurse or other surgical staff — draws on the body with a permanent marker to identify the correct surgical site. To learn more about wrong-sided surgery and how to prevent it, read my Well post “When Surgeons Cut the Wrong Body Part.”