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Fact Sheet
Hand Hygiene Guidelines Fact Sheet
- Improved adherence to hand hygiene (i.e. hand washing or use of
alcohol-based hand rubs) has been shown to terminate outbreaks in health
care facilities, to reduce transmission of antimicrobial resistant
organisms (e.g. methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus) and reduce
overall infection rates.
- CDC is releasing guidelines to improve adherence to hand hygiene in
health care settings. In addition to traditional handwashing with soap
and water, CDC is recommending the use of alcohol-based handrubs by
health care personnel for patient care because they address some of the
obstacles that health care professionals face when taking care of
patients.
- Handwashing with soap and water remains a sensible strategy for hand
hygiene in non-health care settings and is recommended by CDC and other
experts.
- When health care personnel's hands are visibly soiled, they should
wash with soap and water.
- The use of gloves does not eliminate the need for hand hygiene.
Likewise, the use of hand hygiene does not eliminate the need for
gloves. Gloves reduce hand contamination by 70 percent to 80 percent,
prevent cross-contamination and protect patients and health care
personnel from infection. Handrubs should be used before and after each
patient just as gloves should be changed before and after each
patient.
- When using an alcohol-based handrub, apply product to palm of one
hand and rub hands together, covering all surfaces of hands and fingers,
until hands are dry. Note that the volume needed to reduce the number of
bacteria on hands varies by product.
- Alcohol-based handrubs significantly reduce the number of
microorganisms on skin, are fast acting and cause less skin
irritation.
- Health care personnel should avoid wearing artificial nails and keep
natural nails less than one quarter of an inch long if they care for
patients at high risk of acquiring infections (e.g. Patients in
intensive care units or in transplant units
- When evaluating hand hygiene products for potential use in health
care facilities, administrators or product selection committees should
consider the relative efficacy of antiseptic agents against various
pathogens and the acceptability of hand hygiene products by personnel.
Characteristics of a product that can affect acceptance and therefore
usage include its smell, consistency, color and the effect of dryness on
hands.
- As part of these recommendations, CDC is asking health care
facilities to develop and implement a system for measuring improvements
in adherence to these hand hygiene recommendations. Some of the
suggested performance indicators include: periodic monitoring of hand
hygiene adherence and providing feedback to personnel regarding their
performance, monitoring the volume of alcohol-based handrub used/1000
patient days, monitoring adherence to policies dealing with wearing
artificial nails and focused assessment of the adequacy of health care
personnel hand hygiene when outbreaks of infection occur.
- Allergic contact dermatitis due to alcohol hand rubs is very
uncommon. However, with increasing use of such products by health care
personnel, it is likely that true allergic reactions to such products
will occasionally be encountered.
- Alcohol-based hand rubs take less time to use than traditional hand
washing. In an eight-hour shift, an estimated one hour of an ICU nurse's
time will be saved by using an alcohol-based handrub.
- These guidelines should not be construed to legalize product claims
that are not allowed by an FDA product approval by FDA's
Over-the-Counter Drug Review. The recommendations are not intended to
apply to consumer use of the products discussed.
# # #
CDC protects people's health and safety by preventing and
controlling diseases and injuries; enhances health decisions by providing
credible information on critical health issues; and promotes healthy
living through strong partnerships with local, national, and international
organizations. |
