Handrubbing with sprayed alcohol-based hand rub: an alternative method for effective hand hygiene.

Area of Science:

• Infection Prevention and Control
• Microbiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Effective hand hygiene is critical for preventing healthcare-associated infections.
• The efficacy of sprayed alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) compared to traditional methods requires investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if sprayed ABHR is a non-inferior alternative to the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended poured ABHR for hand hygiene.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of sprayed ABHR with and without handrubbing in reducing bacterial contamination.

Main Methods:

• A laboratory experiment simulating European Norm 1500 standards was performed.
• Participants used sprayed ABHR (with/without rubbing) and poured ABHR (with rubbing) on Escherichia coli-contaminated hands.
• Microbiological sampling and generalized linear mixed models analyzed bacterial count reductions.

Main Results:

• Handrubbing with sprayed ABHR demonstrated non-inferiority to the WHO-recommended poured ABHR method.
• Bacterial count reductions were comparable between handrubbing with sprayed ABHR (log10 3.66 cfu/mL) and poured ABHR (log10 3.46 cfu/mL).
• Sprayed ABHR without handrubbing was not found to be non-inferior, showing a lower bacterial reduction (log10 2.76 cfu/mL).

Conclusions:

• Handrubbing with sprayed ABHR is a non-inferior method for reducing bacterial counts compared to poured ABHR.
• Sprayed ABHR, when used with handrubbing, offers a potentially acceptable alternative for effective hand hygiene.
• Further research is needed to assess efficacy in diverse settings and against various pathogens.