Hand Hygiene

An increase in prevalence in healthcare settings across the continuum of care over several decades has resulted in MRSA and other multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) being given priority as targets of reduction efforts by several regulatory and advisory bodies. These include the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Infection prevention practices centered on hand hygiene protocols can save lives across all healthcare facilities, not just hospital settings.

This Guidebook provides a comprehensive look at hand hygiene compliance monitoring, specifically electronic systems and how technology can drive improved performance.

ICT invited manufacturers of hand hygiene products to provide instruction on best practices relating to the evaluation of products as well as how to introduce and integrate them into the healthcare environment.

Researchers have identified mutations in a gene called CARD11 that lead to atopic dermatitis, or eczema, an allergic skin disease. Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and other institutions discovered the mutations in four unrelated families with severe atopic dermatitis and studied the resulting cell-signaling defects that contribute to allergic disease. Their findings, reported in Nature Genetics, also suggest that some of these defects potentially could be corrected by supplementation with the amino acid glutamine.

Outbreaks of infectious diseases, caused by harmful pathogens, can be traced back centuries as the cause of significant morbidity and mor-tality in humans. The previous century saw two of medicine’s biggest achievements: the introduction of vaccinations to prevent infections and the use of antibiotics to cure infections when they do occur. Preventing and curing infections remain key goals of medicine in providing optimal health for a population. But growing antibiotic resistance and community-acquired infections are on the rise. It’s important to take a closer look at these growing trends.

Whether it's soap-and-water handwashing or using an antiseptic hand wash, an alcohol-based handrub (ABHR), or a surgical hand antisepsis product, hand hygiene remains a cornerstone of infection prevention and control practice. Despite indications that hand hygiene can help control the transmission of infectious microorganisms as part of a multi-modal approach, as well as innovations in product and dispenser design to enhance the user experience, hand hygiene rates remain sub-optimally low.