New Guidelines Issued on Hand Hygiene in Healthcare Settings

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America released new guidelines for hand hygiene in healthcare facilities to emphasize best practices to prevent the spread of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).  

“Adherence to recommended practices remains low. While there can be barriers to optimal hand hygiene in healthcare settings, poor hand hygiene undermines care and threatens patient safety,” Janet Haas, PhD, RN, CIC, co-lead author.
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The society’s recommendations for basic hand hygiene practices:

• Soap and alcohol-based hand rubs (ABHR) with at least 62% alcohol should be used for routine hand hygiene in all patient care areas.
• Use ABHR or soap and water before patient contact, before preparing or handling medication, before moving from a contaminated body site to a clean site n the same patient, before and after inserting and handling invasive devices, and after contact with blood or bodily fluids, after direct patient contact, or contact with patient environment.
• Gloves protect hands from contamination with microorganisms and are essential when contact with blood or body fluids is anticipated. Gloves are also critical when hand hygiene may be insufficient to prevent transmission.
• When hands are visible soiled, use soap and water—not ABHR—for hand hygiene. Current literature finds that triclosan is no more effective in preventing transmission of microorganisms in healthcare settings than ABHR and soap. Triclosan kills a narrower spectrum of organisms than ABHR and soap, which can lead to contamination and resistance.
• Monitoring hand hygiene adherence is critical to improving practice. Develop a multidisciplinary team that includes representatives from administrative and unit-level leadership to create a hand hygiene program that works best for the institution.

The complete guidelines are published in the August issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.

References:
Ellingson K, Haas JP, Aiello AE, et al. Strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections through hand hygiene. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2014 August [epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1086/677145.

SHEA. Expert guidance on hand hygiene in heathcare settings [press release]. July 16, 2014. www.shea-online.org/View/ArticleId/297/Expert-Guidance-on-Hand-Hygiene-in-Healthcare-Settings.aspx. Accessed July 17, 2014.