Study of the efficacy of antiseptic handrub lotions with hand washing machines.
The effectiveness of quick handwashing in regards to four alcohol-based handrub lotions, including two products already on the market and our original lotions 1, 2, with two different kinds of hand washing machines was studied in vivo. We also tried to evaluate the efficacy of the four lotions in vitro. The in vivo testing of each lotion, including ethanol, was evaluated using two hand washing methods, first with and then without a previous soap wash. Computerized image analysis was used to calculate the bacterial count on the hand surface. The results showed that a 3 second application of the original lotion 2 (0.5% chlorhexidine in a 77% ethyl alcohol solution) preceded by a soap wash eradicated 89.3% of the bacteria on the hands; this was the highest reduction rate of all four detergents. AROKULIN-E (67.9% ethyl alcohol solution) without a prior handwashing produced the lowest reduction, 49.1% against hand surface bacteria. These results were compatible with those in vitro. It seems that an alcohol-based solution containing an effective antimicrobial detergent preceded by a soap wash is necessary to acceptably reduce hand surface bacteria.
Namura
S
S
Department of Dermatology, Kansai Medical University, Osaka, Japan.
Nishijima
S
S
Mitsuya
K
K
Asada
Y
Y
D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003902:Detergents; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006225:Hand / Q000382:microbiology; D006235:Hand Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
D003902:Detergents