Hand hygiene in peritoneal dialysis patients: a comparison of two techniques

Hand hygiene is essential for preventing peritoneal dialysis (PD)-related infections. The present study compared the effectiveness of two hygiene techniques in reducing the number of colony-forming units (CFUs) on the hands of patients undergoing PD.

In this controlled clinical trial, 22 participants enrolled in the same PD program underwent a two-hand evaluation for microbiologic flora. Participants participated in two treatments: a) simple hand hygiene plus antiseptic hand hygiene, in which the patients washed their hands with water and glycerin soap for 1 minute and then rubbed and dried their hands with 70% ethyl alcohol gel; and b) antiseptic hand hygiene, in which the patients rubbed their hands with 70% ethyl alcohol gel until fully dry. To sample distal finger surfaces, we asked the participants to touch sheep blood agar plates directly.

The CFU count for both hands was significantly higher in the regular hygiene group than in the gel-only group [69.0 (16.0 - 101.0) CFU vs 9.0 (2.2 - 55.5) CFU, p < 0.010]. Growth of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus colonies was significantly higher in right-hand cultures from the regular hygiene group than in those from the gel-only group [69.5 (26.25 - 101.0) CFU vs 9.5 (1.0 - 41.7) CFU; p < 0.050].

Among patients undergoing PD, using 70% ethyl alcohol gel to cleanse the hands may be more effective than following the regular hygiene recommendations in reducing bacterial populations.