Local Production of World Health Organization Recommended Hand Rub Formulation and Comparison of its Efficacy with a Commercially Available Alcohol-Based Hand Rub

Abstract

Objective: To produce a World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended hand rub formulation locally and compare its efficacy with a commercially available Alcohol-based Hand Rub (ABHR) - Sterillium. Methods: A non-randomized comparative study was conducted. Sixty healthcare workers were divided into two groups - Group A (WHO-recommended hand rub) and Group B (Sterillium). WHO-recommended hand rub was prepared according to the specified formula. Each participant from study Group A received three ml of WHO-recommended hand rub formulation, and each study Group B participant received three ml of Sterillium. Bacterial samples of each participant (from both hands) were collected before and 0 after using an ABHR solution. Samples were inoculated on the nutrient agar plates and incubated at 37 C for 24 hours. The total number of bacterial colonies grown on plates inoculated before and after ABHR use was counted and identified by standard microbiology techniques and compared between the two groups. The WHO-recommended hand rub and Sterillium were compared and analyzed using differences in proportion. Results: The overall reduction in bacterial growth was comparable for both the hand rubs, with an average load reduction of log 1.5607 for locally produced hand rub solution and an average load reduction of log 1.609 in the case of Sterillium. Conclusion: Both of the handrubs are comparable in efficacy and are effective against all the bacteria isolated from the palms of HCWs (Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus (CoNS), Micrococcus spp., Acinetobacter spp., Bacillus spp., Pseudomonas spp., and Citrobacter), including Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus