Alcohol hand rubs not enough to curb hospital infections
February 17th, 2008 Posted by: Dr. Cox
Making alcohol-based hand gels common and accessible in hospitals increases their use and cuts the amount of microbes on the hands of nursing staff. But it does not cut the rates of device-associated infections, illness caused by drug-resistant bacteria or cases of Clostridium difficile, says a study published in the January Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.
Authors and other experts say this situation is not because the products are ineffective. Rather, increases in their use need to be carried out in conjunction with other infection control strategies.