title: Reducing pathogen transmission in a hospital setting. Handshake versus fist bump: a pilot study.
abstract: Handshaking is a known vector for bacterial transmission between individuals. Handwashing has become a major initiative throughout healthcare systems to reduce transmission rates, but as many as 80% of individuals retain some disease-causing bacteria after washing. The fist bump is an alternative to the handshake that has become popular. We have determined that implementing the fist bump in the healthcare setting may further reduce bacterial transmission between healthcare providers by reducing contact time and total surface area exposed when compared with the standard handshake.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, West Virginia University, School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, USA. Electronic address: pghareeb@gmail.com.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Ghareeb
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bourlai
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dutton
authors.forename: W T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: McClellan
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D005868:Gestures; D006225:Hand / Q000382:microbiology; D063373:Hand Hygiene / Q000379:methods*; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects
keywords: Fist bump; Hand hygiene; Handshake; Nosocomial infection