Handwashing with soap or alcoholic solutions? A randomized clinical trial of its effectiveness

The effectiveness of alcohol gel and other hand-cleansing agents against important nosocomial pathogens

“…Our findings are in agreement with previous reports from investigators outside Brazil, who have demonstrated the effectiveness of the alcohol-based gels in hand antisepsis (4,20,28,36,37).…”

“…In most of these infections, hand or fomite transmission is implicated (1,9,18,34,35,40). Second, in hospital practice, a handrub with alcohol-based agents is especially indicated in situations in which compliance with recommended handwashing procedures is hampered by the lack or scarcity of sinks, or by nursing work overload, or both (29,37). This situation is often found in intensive care units in Brazilian hospitals (29).…”

The Effect of a Scenario based Hand Hygiene Education Program on Hand Hygiene Knowledge, Hand Hygiene Perception, Hand Hygiene Compliance and Hand Hygiene Method in Nursing Students^*

“…Alcohol-based products are more effective for standard handwashing or hand antisepsis by HCWs than soap or antimicrobial soaps (Table 3) (25,53,61,93,(106)(107)(108)(109)(110)(111)(112)119,(143)(144)(145)(146)(147)(148)(149)(150)(151)(152). In all but two of the trials that compared alcohol-based solutions with antimicrobial soaps or detergents, alcohol reduced bacterial counts on hands more than washing hands with soaps or detergents containing hexachlorophene, povidone-iodine, 4% chlorhexidine, or triclosan.…”

Hand Hygiene

“…Table I.11.6 summarizes a number of studies that have compared alcohol-based products with plain or antimicrobial soaps to determine which was more effective for standard handwashing or hand antisepsis by HCWs (for details see Part I, Section 11.13). 88,125,137,221,223,[273][274][275][276][277][278][279]286,[313][314][315][316][317][318][319][320][321] The efficacy of alcohol-based hand hygiene products is affected by a number of factors including the type of alcohol used, concentration of alcohol, contact time, volume of alcohol used, and whether the hands are wet when the alcohol is applied. Small volumes (0.2-0.5 ml) of alcohol applied to the hands are no more effective than washing hands with plain soap and water.…”