Quick-Drying Hand Disinfectants Reconsidered For Prevention of Hospital Floors from getting Stained

• Published in: JOURNAL OF THE JAPANESE ASSOCIATION OF RURAL MEDICINE Vol. 53; no. 2; pp. 118 - 122
• Main Authors: OHE, Kaoru, OZAKI, Takao, NISHIMURA, Naoko, MORISHITA, Kenichi, KATO, Yukio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: THE JAPANESE ASSOCIATION OF RURAL MEDICINE 2004
• ISSN: 0468-2513; 1349-7421
• DOI: 10.2185/jjrm.53.118

In August 2001 we began to use WELPAS (a benzalkonium chloride solution) as part of our cost-containment drive, replacing self-made glycerol-added ethanol, which had been used for a long time to prevent nosocomial infections. Since then, blackish stains have become particularly noticeable here and there on the floorboards of the passageways in the hospital wards. The newly adopted quick-drying hand disinfectant was suspected as the culprit. To find the real cause of the dirt, we built a hallway similar to the real passageway for experiment. The disinfectant agents used were WELPAS, WELLUP (chlorhexidine gluconate), HIBISOFT (chlorhexidine gluconate), medicinal ethanol, cationic detergent solution, HIBITANE solution (chlorhexidine hydrochioride) and glycerol solution. These agents and distilled water were dropped on a limited area of the floor respectively for comparison of the degrees of dirt. The cationic detergent solution and WELPAS containing cationic detergent left blackish stains that were hardest to remove. From this finding, it was inferred that the cationic detergent solution was responsible for the dirt on the floor. So we decided to switch to a quick-drying hand disinfectant which does not contain cationic detergents. After considering economic benefit, we chose WELLUP which contains medicinal alcohol plus chlorhexidine gluconate and put it into actual use in October 2003. Since then, the hospitall floors have become unmistakalbly clean.