Improving hand hygiene in the OR
A study in the May issue of Anesthesiology reports on a small trial of a personal hand hygiene device by anesthesiologists in the OR. The small alcohol dispenser attaches to clothing and contains a microchip that time stamps usage and emits an audible signal every 6 minutes from the last usage to remind the wearer to wash up. Hand hygiene increased 27-fold and significant reductions in bacterial contamination of the anesthesia cart and peripheral IV tubing were documented. Any way that we can harness technology to increase hand hygiene seems like a good idea to me.
I noticed that your article ...at exactly the same that we received a phone call from a school nurse in Lisle, IL advising that her school district--consistent with hundreds that we've heard from--has prohibited alcohol-based hand sanitizers---and are required to purchase only non-alcohol based products.
ReplyDeleteSchools and colleges across the US aren't the only venues that have called us...
Amongst others, four different US Government Agencies, including the midwest regional HQ for the GSA (located in Chicago), two divisions of the US Military--and dozens of corporate facility managers have all come to us because they're not buying the 1996 recommendation put out by the CDC i.e. 'use alcohol hand sanitizers'--a statement that is now 13 years old and merely repeated every time there's a hand hygiene crisis.
For what its worth, I actually exchanged emails last week with Rich Besser, the interim director of the CDC, and even though he's a lame duck and his replacement has already been announced, Rich clearly acknowledged that CDC's communication strategy insofar as hand sanitizer recommendations "needs to be worked on.." [considering the existence of products developed subsequent to CDC's 'hand hygiene guideline' was first written more than a decade ago.
Why is everyone banning alcohol hand sanitizers?
1. Flammable/Flash Point Risk
2. Toxic
3. Damages protective skin cells
4. No persistency
5. Ineffective when applied to dirty/soiled hands. (Which is exactly why Purell says "wash hands before applying"...brilliant right?
6. Damages floors and walls.
In schools--the prevalent concern is inadvertent consumption of the product...and in high schools--its not so inadvertent...Teens are mixing Purell and GermX into juice and soda.
Of course I have an agenda in pointing this out. Per links below, you'll notice that we're one of a select few manufacturers of alcohol-free, rinse free hand sanitizer products. The active ingredient that we use (as do the majority of the other makers of non-alcohol hand sanitizers), is the same ingredient found in Bactine Antiseptic, J&J's BandAid Foaming Antiseptic, and dozens of other health care products, including spermicidal foam.
And--we're actually one of few manufacturers that has lab tested its product against H1N1. Not necessarily a major test--as the product is effective against a broad spectrum of germs/viruses, and merely a coincidence that of the few dozen pathogens that we tested against during the development of the brand, H1N1 was on our list.
Jay Berkman
Mata Global Solutions,Inc.
d/b/a MGS Brands
d/b/a MGS Soapopular
2490 Black Rock Turnpike
Fairfield, Connecticut 06825
Tel: 203.255.0034
Fax:866-434-7244
US Distributor of Soapopular The Consumer Market's Most Popular Alcohol-Free Hand Sanitizer
Global License: Hy5 For Institutions
GREAT Blog: www.HandHygieneFacts.blogspot.com
Soapopular is a Member of the International Federation for Infection Control (IFIC)www.theific.org
Can you elaborate on your antiseptic agent regarding spectrum of activity and link us to published studies (in vitro &/or clinical)?
ReplyDelete