Comprehensive bactericidal activity of an ethanol-based hand gel in 15 seconds.
BACKGROUND
Some studies indicate that the commonly recommended 30 s application time for the post contamination treatment of hands may not be necessary as the same effect may be achieved with some formulations in a shorter application time such as 15 s.


METHODS
We evaluated the bactericidal activity of an ethanol-based hand gel (Sterillium Comfort Gel) within 15 s in a time-kill-test against 11 Gram-positive, 16 Gram-negative bacteria and 11 emerging bacterial pathogens. Each strain was evaluated in quadruplicate.


RESULTS
The hand gel (85% ethanol, w/w) was found to reduce all 11 Gram-positive and all 16 Gram-negative bacteria by more than 5 log10 steps within 15 s, not only against the ATCC test strains but also against corresponding clinical isolates. In addition, a log10 reduction > 5 was observed against all tested emerging bacterial pathogens.


CONCLUSIONS
The ethanol-based hand gel was found to have a broad spectrum of bactericidal activity in only 15 s which includes the most common species causing nosocomial infections and the relevant emerging pathogens. Future research will hopefully help to find out if a shorter application time for the post contamination treatment of hands provides more benefits or more risks.
Kampf
Günter
G
Bode Chemie GmbH & Co, KG, Scientific Affairs, Melanchthonstr, 27, 22525 Hamburg, Germany. guenter.kampf@bode-chemie.de
Hollingsworth
Angela
A
D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005782:Gels / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006235:Hand Disinfection; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D013997:Time Factors
D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local; D005782:Gels; D000431:Ethanol