3 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
Hand sanitizers are a standard of hygiene requirements. They must be effective at reducing germ count on the hands while ideally providing emollients to moisturize the skin after use. Spectrum™ Advanced Hand Sanitizer Foam (70%) (hereby referred to as Spectrum Advanced Foam) kills over 99.99% of germs within 15 seconds while boasting double digit increases in hand moisture after two weeks of use. In 2002 and 2009 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) published guidance that hands should remain wet for at least 15 seconds while being rubbed together after application of an alcohol-based hand rub, though the recommendations do not specify the volume of product to be apply. This study will evaluate the "wet time" of Spectrum Advanced Foam, which will be defined as the length of time in which the sanitizer foam stays wet on the hands while the participant rubs their hands with the foam sanitizer. The participant will first be asked to wash and dry their hands. Participants will review the appropriate hand sanitizer application steps, as detailed by the WHO guidance. Then, a 1.0 milliliter (mL) aliquot of Spectrum Advanced Foam will be dispensed from an automated dispenser to the participant's hands. The participant will be asked to rub their hands together following the WHO method for hand sanitizer application until they declare the product has dried sufficiently for the donning of medical gloves. Study personnel will measure the wet time of Spectrum Advanced foam using a stopwatch. If the 1.0 ml aliquot does not yield sufficient results to meet WHO guidelines then a 1.4 ml aliquot will be tested, however this was not the case for our study.
This study will evaluate the immediate antimicrobial efficacy and persistence of two hand hygiene products on ICU Health Care Worker's skin flora by measuring bacterial organisms on hands using the hand print method. It is hypothesized that the product containing Chlorhexidine gluconate will provide more persistence than the alcohol product, resulting in less bacterial growth on the hand print plates. In addition, environmental monitoring for cleanliness will be captured from high touch surfaces in ICU patient rooms and common areas using Rodac plates and adenosine triphosphate tests.
Although little is known about compliance with the World Health Organization (WHO) 5 Moments of hand hygiene, the few existing studies report a high number of opportunities and compliance ranging from just 22 to 60%. Previous studies have reported an increased density of opportunities, perceived insufficient time and glove use as factors associated with non-compliance. A healthcare worker performing multiple tasks in one encounter may spend up to half the time in the room doing hand hygiene. Strategies to reduce the time required for hand hygiene may in turn promote increased compliance and may ultimately be most effective in limiting microbial transmission. In this study, the investigators examine whether cleansing gloves at each hand hygiene opportunity at the point of care and reusing the same gloves is as effective as standard practice and the current recommendation (remove gloves, perform hand hygiene, and don new gloves).