Study: How Much Hand Disinfectant is Enough to be Effective?

The volume of hand disinfectant used impacts the efficacy of surgical hand disinfection, according to a study in Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control.

Researchers performed a meta-analysis of hand hygiene experiments, re-analyzing them in terms of amount of disinfectant used and hand size, measured by glove size.

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Researchers found using 6 milliliters of disinfectant was less effective in disinfecting hands than using between nine and 12 milliliters of disinfectant for glove sizes between seven and eight. Additionally, participants with glove sizes of 8.5 or nine always used at least 9 milliliters to keep hands wet with disinfectant for three minutes to be in accordance with EN 12791, a European Standard specifying a test method that simulates practical conditions for determining hand disinfection efficacy.

Researchers suggest using less than 6 milliliters of surgical hand disinfectant is ineffective in proper disinfection. They add that if 6 milliliters was ineffective in disinfecting hands for glove size 7, it most likely will be ineffective in adequate disinfection for larger hands.

More Articles on Hand Hygiene:

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Video Surveillance: The Best Hand Hygiene Monitoring Tool?
Joint Commission Launches Hand Hygiene Tool for up to 72% Compliance Improvement

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