Semmelweis revisited: hand hygiene and nosocomial disease transmission in the anesthesia workstation.
Hospital-acquired infections occur at an alarmingly high frequency, possibly affecting as many as 1 in 10 patients, resulting in a staggering morbidity and an annual mortality of many tens of thousands of patients. Appropriate hand hygiene is highly effective and represents the simplest approach that we have to preventing nosocomial infections. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has targeted hand-washing compliance as a top research agenda item for patient safety. Recent research has identified inadequate hand washing and contaminated anesthesia workstation issues as likely contributors to nosocomial infections, finding aseptic practices highly variable among providers. It is vital that all healthcare providers, including anesthesia providers, appreciate the role of inadequate hand hygiene in nosocomial infection and meticulously follow the mandates of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists and other professional healthcare organizations.
Biddle
Chuck
C
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
D000758:Anesthesia / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development; D002423:Cause of Death; D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D004866:Equipment Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D050456:Fomites / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006235:Hand Disinfection / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017757:Infectious Disease Transmission, Professional-to-Patient / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009719:Nurse Anesthetists / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D017751:Safety Management; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D016270:United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality