title: Gram-negative bacilli as nontransient flora on the hands of hospital personnel.
abstract: The possibility that gram-negative bacilli (GNB) are part of the nontransient flora on hands was examined by using a broth rinse technique to detect low titers of GNB after a hygienic hand wash with soap and water. A total of 100 nurses who had direct patient contact and 40 controls without patient contact had a similar rate of recovery of GNB (46 and 55%, respectively). GNB persisted on the hands of 10 nurses throughout five successive hand washes with soap and water. Hand cultures were obtained daily from 12 nurses before and after a work shift in a surgical intensive care unit. GNB were recovered from 57% of individuals before patient contact and from only 24% after the work shift. Nontransient GNB on the hands of hospital personnel are a potential reservoir for hospital strains, and patient contact is not an obvious source for the acquisition of nontransient GNB.
mesh_terms: D000150:Acinetobacter / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000328:Adult; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006225:Hand / Q000382:microbiology*; D006235:Hand Disinfection; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D010564:Personnel, Hospital; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012867:Skin / Q000382:microbiology