Nursing

What’s the best way to dry?

Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education, October 28, 2005

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Longstanding guidelines for handwashing procedures have significantly reduced the spread of nosocomial infections to patients. Hand-drying techniques, however, show little difference when compared with one another in controlling hospital infection, according to a study published in the July 2000 Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

The study of 99 adults concluded that the following different drying methods offered similar success in removing bacteria from the hands:

1. Cloth towels on a rotary dispenser

2. Paper towels from a stack near the sink

3. Warm heat from a hand-activated wall dryer

4. Simply letting hands dry in the air

Editor's note: The above excerpt is from the online course, "Nursing CE Series: Improving Hand Hygiene Compliance - A Guide for Nurse Managers." For more information on this and other courses in our library, go to www.hcprofessor.com and click on Nursing CE.



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