Infection Control

10.1 Guidelines for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Settings

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Health Care Infection Control Practice Advisory Committee (HICPAC), Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), Infectious Disease Society of America (DSA), and Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC) have made 2002 Hand Hygiene recommendations for the use of soap and water and alcohol-based rubs in the health care center.¹ Proper hand hygiene can help prevent the spread of antimicrobial-resistant infections, whereas poor hand hygiene may be a contributing factor in patient mortality. Compliance for hand hygiene is noted to be problematic among health care workers.²

Interestingly, the CDC/HICPAC recommendations address rehabilitation-related concerns such as hand hygiene management after lifting patients or touching equipment near patients. Along with guidelines below, additional recommendations for health care workers include keeping nail tips <¼ inch length; not using same gloves on more than one patient; changing gloves when moving from a contaminated to an uncontaminated body site; wearing gloves if contacting blood, mucous membranes, non-intact skin or other infectious material; and not wearing artificial fingernails or extenders if one has direct contact with high-risk patients (e.g., ICU, operating rooms).