Study: Hand Gel Alone Won't Cut Infection Risk

Jan 30, 07:33 AM

By Timberly Ross

The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb.

Doctors and nurses on the go often skip soap and water in favor of an alcohol-based hand gel. They think the quick-acting goo will kill bacteria on their hands and curb the spread of infection.

It turns out that's not enough, research now shows.

In a Nebraska hospital, medical workers nearly doubled their use of the alcohol-based gel, but their generally cleaner hands had no bearing on the rate of infections among patients.

The doctor who studied the problem pointed to many villains: rings and fingernails that are too long and hard to clean, poor handling of catheters and treatment areas that aren't sanitized.

"Hand hygiene is still important, but it's not a panacea," said Dr. Mark Rupp, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He led the study at the adjoining Nebraska Medical Center.

The results of his study appear to contradict hospital guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that say better hand hygiene - through frequent washing or use of hand gels - has been shown to cut the spread of hospital infections.

The spread of infection-causing germs in U.S. hospitals is a huge health problem, accounting for an estimated 1.7 million infections and 99,000 deaths each year, according to the CDC. These include drug-resistant staph, urinary tract infections and ventilator- associated pneumonia, among others.

"There are many factors that influence the development of hospital-acquired infections. It would be naive to think that a single, simple intervention would fix this problem," Rupp said.

His study appears in the January issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.

Research has shown alcohol-based hand gels are more effective, faster and easier to use than soap and water. The findings of the new study were based on 300 hours of hand hygiene observations of nurses and doctors in two comparable intensive care units over a two- year period.

Rupp found the results surprising. However, he said hospital- borne infections cannot be stopped by better hand hygiene alone because infections aren't limited to person-to-person contact.

He suggested hand gels be combined with other measures, such as better cleaning of hospital units, proper insertion and maintenance of catheters, and doctors prescribing antibiotics only when necessary so more drug-resistant bacteria don't pop up.

other villains

A doctor who researched the infection rate pointed to rings and fingernails that are too long and hard to clean, poor handling of catheters and treatment areas that aren't sanitized.

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