title: National survey of hand antisepsis practices.
abstract: Surgical hand antisepsis is routinely carried out prior to undertaking invasive procedures in an attempt to reduce surgical site infection. There are a number of components within hand antisepsis which include the choice of antiseptic agent, the method of application and the duration of the process. This article presents the findings of a postal survey of 1,471 (out of 8,000) perioperative practitioners identifying their surgical hand antisepsis practices. While a traditional scrub using chlorhexidine gluconate remains the preferred method of antisepsis, 20% of practitioners use alcohol rubs for repeated cases. Compliance with recommended guidelines is patchy (for example, only 3% of practitioners scrub for the recommended time of two minutes) and guidelines need to address more issues.
authors.affiliation: De Montfort University and University Hospitals, Leicester.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tanner
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blunsden
authors.forename: Apostolos
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fakis
mesh_terms: D000438:Alcohols; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local; D003625:Data Collection; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006235:Hand Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000438:Alcohols; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local