Most infants admitted to premature baby or neonatal surgical units are nursed in incubators during part of their stay in hospital. There are many advantages of nursing these infants in incubators, but there is also one great disadvantage, the danger of bacterial colonization and contamination inside the incubator. The temperature inside the incubator approaches that of the body and many of thes...

Most infants admitted to premature baby or neonatal surgical units are nursed in incubators during part of their stay in hospital. There are many advantages of nursing these infants in incubators, but there is also one great disadvantage, the danger of bacterial colonization and contamination inside the incubator. The temperature inside the incubator approaches that of the body and many of thes...

BACKGROUND Several studies have shown that rubbing hands with an alcohol/chlorhexidine solution provides equivalent microbial decontamination to a conventional surgical scrub using aqueous chlorhexidine. However, the authors believe that these studies have methodological flaws that limit their applicability to the operating theatre environment. As such, a method was developed to compare product...

Irritant contact dermatitis is often found on the hands of healthcare workers and is generally caused by frequent hand washing, gloves, aggressive disinfectants or detergents. Alcohols have only a marginal irritation potential, although they may cause a burning sensation on pre-irritated skin. A burning sensation when using alcohols therefore, suggests that the skin barrier is already damaged. ...

BACKGROUND This study assessed the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practice regarding disinfection procedures among nurses in Italian hospitals. METHODS A face-to-face interview gathered the following information: demographic and practice characteristics; knowledge about the healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and the disinfection practices; attitudes towards the utility of guidelines/...

BACKGROUND Appropriate hand hygiene among health care workers is the most important infection prevention measure; however, compliance is generally low. Gain-framed messages (ie, messages that emphasize the benefits of hand hygiene rather than the risks of noncompliance) may be most effective, but have not been tested. METHODS The study was conducted in a 27-bed neonatal intensive care unit. W...

Virtually no prevention strategy in hospital hygiene has been the focus of such frequent controversial discussions as the role of surface disinfection. Set against that background, the Commission for Hospital Hygiene and Infection Prevention at the Robert Koch Institute founded a working group comprising members with divergent views of risk evaluation as regards the role of disinfection. This w...

Hand hygiene is one of the most important measures to prevent transmission of infectious agents and plays a major role in prevention of infection in any type of healthcare setting. While requirements for the efficacy of hand disinfectants are defined in European testing norms such as the EN 1500 for hygienic hand disinfection or EN 12791 for surgical hand preparation, no specific recommendation...