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A Method to Test the Efficacy of Handwashing for the Removal of Emerging Infectious Pathogens
Published on: June 7, 2017
Alcohol-based hand disinfection: a more robust hand-hygiene method in an intensive care unit
1Institute of Clinical Epidemiology and Molecular Biology, Akershus University Hospital, 1474 Nordbyhagen, Norway. chtv@ahus.no
Abstract:
This study involved observation of hand-hygiene behaviour and evaluation of the effect of alcohol-based hand disinfection and handwashing with plain liquid soap on microbial flora. The study was performed in a combined medical and surgical intensive care unit. We demonstrated a crude compliance of hand hygiene of 50.4%, which was only performed adequately in 20.8% of cases. Of this group, handwashing and hand-disinfection procedures were performed properly 34.0% and 71.6% of the time, respectively. Hand samples for bacteriological examinations with the glove juice method demonstrated that whilst handwashing was sensitive to the way in which hand hygiene was performed, alcohol-based hand disinfection was less sensitive to such performance. Our study demonstrated that alcohol-based hand disinfection is a robust hand-hygiene method with many advantages in a practical setting. It is very feasible for use in hospital wards.
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