Hand hygiene--evaluation of three disinfectant hand sanitizers in a community setting.

Rita Babeluk,Sarah Mertlitz,Christoph Klaus,Johannes Matiasek,Sabrina Jutz,Hiroshi Nishiura

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0111969

Rita Babeluk, Sarah Mertlitz + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0111969

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Abstract

Hand hygiene is acknowledged as the single most important measure to prevent nosocomial infections in the healthcare setting. Similarly, in non-clinical settings, hand hygiene is recognised as a key element in helping prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of three different disinfectant hand sanitizers in reducing the burden of bacterial hand contamination in 60 healthy volunteers in a community setting, both before and after education about the correct use of hand sanitizers. The study is the first to evaluate the efficacy and ease of use of different formulations of hand rubs used by the general population. The products tested were: Sterillium (perfumed, liquid), desderman pure gel (odorless, gel) and Lavit (perfumed, spray). Sterillium and desderman are EN1500 (hygienic hand rub) certified products (available in pharmacy) and Lavit is non EN1500 certified and available in supermarkets. The two EN1500 certified products were found to be significantly superior in terms of reducing bacterial load. desderman pure gel, Sterillium and Lavit reduced the bacterial count to 6.4%, 8.2% and 28.0% respectively. After education in the correct use of each hand rub, the bacterial load was reduced even further, demonstrating the value of education in improving hand hygiene. Information about the testers' perceptions of the three sanitizers, together with their expectations of a hand sanitizer was obtained through a questionnaire. Efficacy, followed by skin compatibility were found to be the two most important attributes of a hand disinfectant in our target group.

Highlights

The word hygiene derives from the ancient Greek goddess Hygeia, the goddess of healing. [1] Today, hygiene is associated with disease prevention and health promotion
Each was tested by the same 20 people in two phases within one week. (Fig. 2) The three hand sanitizers selected for testing were: 3 ml Sterillium (45.0 g propan2-ol, 30.0 g propan-1-ol, 0.2 g mecetroniumetilsulfate/100.0 g; perfumed, liquid), 3 ml desderman pure gel (78.2 g ethanol (96%), 0.1 g biphenyl-2-ol/100.0 g; odorless, gel) and Lavit
Before disinfection, there was no significant difference between the groups in the bacterial load detected on hands

Summary

Introduction

The word hygiene derives from the ancient Greek goddess Hygeia, the goddess of healing. [1] Today, hygiene is associated with disease prevention and health promotion. [1] Today, hygiene is associated with disease prevention and health promotion. Effective hand hygiene is a key intervention in disease prevention. Outside of the healthcare environment, studies have reported an association between improvements in hand hygiene and reductions in rates of infectious diseases. Studies show that after hand washing, as many as 80% of individuals retain some pathogenic bacteria on their hands. [17] Hand washing with soap removes the body’s own fatty acids from the skin, which may result in cracked skin that provides an entry portal for pathogens [18], [19] In contrast, high-quality hand disinfectants contain additional skin care products, like emollients. Adherence to hand hygiene practices amongst healthcare professionals has been regularly audited and investigated. The efficacy of different formulations of hand disinfectants on bacterial load reduction in non-healthcare settings has not been previously investigated

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