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Surgical hand hygiene: scrub or rub?

A F Widmer1

  • 1University Hospital Basel, Division of Infectious Diseases & Hospital Epidemiology, Petersgraben 4, 4031 Basel, Switzerland. awidmer@uhbs.ch

The Journal of Hospital Infection
|March 5, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Alcohol-based hand rubs offer superior surgical hand hygiene compared to traditional scrubs, reducing infection risk. Proper technique and adherence to standards like EN 12791 are crucial for effectiveness.

Area of Science:

  • Infection Control
  • Surgical Safety
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Surgical hand hygiene is essential to prevent postoperative infections.
  • Per-operative glove punctures occur in nearly 30% of surgeries, increasing infection risk.
  • Traditional surgical scrubs use antimicrobial soap and water, while alcohol-based hand rubs are a newer alternative.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effectiveness of different surgical hand hygiene methods.
  • To compare alcohol-based hand rubs with traditional surgical scrubs.
  • To highlight the importance of adherence to established standards for surgical hand antisepsis.

Main Methods:

  • Comparison of efficacy based on European Norm EN 12791 standards.
  • Assessment of microbial growth delay under gloved hands (remnant effect).
  • Evaluation of procedure time and potential for skin irritation.

Main Results:

  • Alcohol-based hand rubs demonstrate greater effectiveness and require less time than traditional scrubs.
  • Some alcohol-based products achieve efficacy within 90 seconds, while others require 3-5 minutes.
  • Proper technique and timing are critical for the effectiveness of short-application alcohol-based hand rubs.

Conclusions:

  • Alcohol-based hand rubs are the preferred method for surgical hand hygiene.
  • Surgical hand hygiene protocols should meet EN 12791 or equivalent standards.
  • Both alcohol-based rubs and chlorhexidine scrubs can meet required efficacy standards.

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