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Study: Alcohol gel most effective disinfectant

Infection Control Monitor, April 8, 2005

Hospitals whose healthcare workers use alcohol gel to disinfect their hands have a lower risk of hospital-acquired infections compared to facilities that use other cleaning solutions, according to a recent study from Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle and published in the April 1 edition of Pediatrics.

The study, which analyzed data from 31 children's hospitals and more than 48,000 patients, determined that patients at hospitals whose staff had access to alcohol hand gel had a 40% lower risk of developing gastrointestinal infections.

Respiratory infections also developed at a higher rate at hospitals that used varying disinfection practices.

Researchers only studied patients hospitalized for minor surgical procedures, believing these patients were least likely to suffer from preexisting infections.

Given the documented benefits, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now calls for healthcare facilities to choose alcohol hand gel as their primary mode of hand hygiene.

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