Hand Hygiene With Alcohol-Based Hand Rub: How Long Is Long Enough?

• Published in: Infection control and hospital epidemiology Vol. 38; no. 5; pp. 547 - 552
• Main Authors: Pires, Daniela, Soule, Hervé, Bellissimo-Rodrigues, Fernando, Gayet-Ageron, Angèle, Pittet, Didier
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Cambridge University Press 01.05.2017
• Subjects: Alcohol; Anti-Infective Agents, Local; Antimicrobial agents; Bacteria; Colony Count, Microbial; Compliance; Confidence intervals; E coli; Escherichia coli - isolation & purification; Ethanol - administration & dosage; Experiments; Female; Hand - microbiology; Hand Disinfection - methods; Hand Disinfection - standards; Hand Hygiene; Hands; Health Personnel; Hospitals, University; Humans; Hygiene; Infections; Linear Models; Male; Personal hygiene; Switzerland; Time

BACKGROUND Hand hygiene is the core element of infection prevention and control. The optimal hand-hygiene gesture, however, remains poorly defined. OBJECTIVE We aimed to evaluate the influence of hand-rubbing duration on the reduction of bacterial counts on the hands of healthcare personnel (HCP). M...