Bacterial contamination of the hands of hospital staff during routine patient care
Bacterial contamination of the hands of hospital staff during routine patient care
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DOI:
10.1001/archinte.159.8.821
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发表时间:
1999-04-26
影响因子:
--
通讯作者:
Perneger, TV
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Pittet, D;Dharan, S;Perneger, TV
Background: Cross-transmission of microorganisms by the hands of health care workers is considered the main route of spread of nosocomial infections.Objective: To study the process of bacterial contamination of health care workers' hands during routine patient care in a large teaching hospital.Methods: Structured observations of 417 episodes of care were conducted by trained external observers (S.T. and V.S.). Each observation period started after a hand-cleansing procedure and ended when the health care worker proceeded to clean his or her hands or at the end of a coherent episode of care. At the end of each period of observation, an imprint of the 5 fingertips of the dominant hand was taken and bacterial colony counts were quantified. Regression methods were used to model the intensity of bacterial contamination as a function of method of hand cleansing, use of gloves during patient care, duration and type of care, and hospital ward.Results Bacterial contamination increased linearly with time on ungloved hands during patient care (average, 16 colony-forming units [CFUs] per minute; 95% confidence interval, 11-21 CFUs per minute). Patient care activities independently (P