Hand hygiene status and effect of handdrying measures on handwashing of health care workers in an intensive care unit

Abstract:

ObjectiveTo realize hand hygiene status and effect of handdrying measures on handwashing of health care workers(HCWs) in an intensive care unit(ICU). MethodsFrom February to April 2013, 210 HCWs in an ICU were selected and randomly divided into three groups， group A dried hands with paper towel， group B with hand drier，and group C with personal towel，specimens from hands before handwashing, after handwashing, and after handdrying were taken and performed detection.ResultsHand microorganism count in group A,B and C before washing hands after contacting patients was (29.10±15.08)CFU/cm2,(31.42±14.76)CFU/cm2 and (30.36±15.52)CFU/cm2 respectively, the difference was not statistically different（F=0.048，P＞0.05）； After sixstep handwashing, hand microorganism count before hand drying in group A,B and C was (3.26±0.61)CFU/cm2, (2.98±0.59)CFU/cm2  and (3.87±0.67)CFU/cm2 respectively,compared with hand microorganism count before handwashing,  the difference was statistically different(all P<0.01）. After adopting different  handdrying methods, microorganism count in three groups was statistically different（F=1.892，P＜0.05）, group A (［1.29±0.58］CFU/cm2 )was significantly lower than group B and C, group B (［9.51±0.73］CFU/cm2 )was significantly lower than group C(［22.76±4.11］CFU/cm2); the qualified rate in group A （90.00%）was significantly higher than group B and C, group B （68.57%）was significantly higher than group C （47.14%）.The top 5 pathogens isolated from HCWs’ hands were Pseudomonas aeruginosa， Acinetobacter baumannii， Klebsiella pneumoniae，Escherichia coli，and  Coagulase negative Staphylococcus, these strains were highly consistent with the top 5 multidrugresistant organisms (MDROs) isolated from ICU patients in this hospital in 2013. ConclusionHCWs’ hands  are seriously contaminated after all kinds of medical performance; if hands are improperly dried，secondary contamination may occur; pathogens isolated from HCWs’ hands are highly consistent with MOROs from patients,timely and correct handwashing and  handdrying is the key link to ensure the quality of hand hygiene，and  is of great significance to reduce the occurrence of MDROs infection in ICU patients.