A standardized protocol for the evaluation of hand disinfection by surgical scrub formulations was applied to volunteers in a multicenter trial. Povidone iodine (PVI), chlorhexidine (CHX), and a nonmedicated soap (NMS) were tested. The scrubbing procedure involved three daily hand washings for five consecutive days; surviving bacteria were counted daily after being collected in a suitable neutr...

A recent research letter on the limited efficacy of alcohol-based hand gels has alerted the global infection control community and raised the question of the true significance of data obtained according to EN 1500. It has been described that a 1 min simple hand wash reduces artificial contamination of hands by a log(10) reduction factor of 2.8 and a 1 min reference hand disinfection with 2-prop...

This study assessed the inhaled dose of alcohol during hand disinfection. Experiments were conducted with two types of hand rub using two hand disinfection procedures. Air samples were collected every 10 s from the breathing zone, by bubbling through a mixture of K(2)Cr(2)O(7) and H(2)SO(4). The reduction of dichromate ions in the presence of alcohols was followed by UV-vis spectrophotometry. T...

OBJECTIVE To introduce a new sequential chlorination disinfection process in which short-term free chlorine and chloramine are sequentially added. METHODS Pilot tests of this sequential chlorination were carried out in a drinking water plant. RESULTS The sequential chlorination disinfection process had the same or better efficiency on microbe (including virus) inactivation compared with the...

The microbiological contamination of water is responsible for millions of deaths in the world annually, until now the disinfection of water has been based on the chlorination; however there is a growing concern for the formation of trihalomethanes, for this reason it was evaluated the inactivation of total coliforms and Escherichia coli (E. coli) by using the advanced oxidation process known as...

The purpose of this study was to assess the antimicrobial efficacy of a peracetic acid-based disinfectant for decontamination of heat-polymerized, chemically activated and microwave-polymerized acrylic resins. Resin plates were contaminated in vivo upon intraoral use by 10 volunteers for 7 nights and slabs were contaminated in vitro by contact with Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus stearothermophi...

High speed instruments are versatile instruments used by clinicians of all specialties of dentistry. It is important for clinicians to understand the types of high speed handpieces available and the mechanism of working. The centers for disease control and prevention have issued guidelines time and again for disinfection and sterilization of high speed handpieces. This article presents the rece...