Effectiveness and microbial contamination of an in-house alcohol-based hand rub.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness and contamination of an in-house alcohol-based hand rub in a real clinical setting and to compare its effectiveness in bacterial reduction with that of a commercial product. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Effectiveness of the hand rub in bacterial reduction was compared to a commercial product using the modified antiseptic/disinfectant testing method of European Standard (EN 1500) in 12 volunteers. In-house alcohol-based hand rub in 50 clinical wards were serially collected and cultured to determine contamination. RESULTS: The bacterial reduction factor of the hand rub was comparable to that of the commercial product. There was no organisms grown from serial cultures of the in-house alcohol-based hand rub in use for 28 days. CONCLUSION: The in-house alcohol-based hand rub was effective and there was no contamination up to 28 days in use.