Assessment of alternative hand hygiene regimens to improve skin health among neonatal intensive care unit nurses

OBJECTIVE: The frequent handwashing and gloving required in high-risk, high -volume patient care areas such as critical care units damages skin of the bands. The purpose of this exploratory study was to compare 2 hand care reg imens (traditional antiseptic wash with chlorhexidine-containing detergent versus mild soap wash with subsequent alcohol-based rinse for degerming as necessary) in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). DESIGN: Prospective, quasi-experimental, random assignment. SETTING: One NICU (47 beds) in a New York City children's hospital. SUBJECTS: Sixteen full-time NICU nurses. OUTCOME MEASURES: Microbial flora and skin condition of hands. INTERVENTION: Nurses were randomly assigned to one of the 2 hand care regim ens. RESULTS: No significant differences in microbial counts or types of organis ms from hands of staff were found, but after 2 weeks nurses in the mild soa p and alcohol group had significant improvements in their skin condition (P = .005). CONCLUSIONS: Use of a mild soap For cleaning and an alcohol-based product f or degerming may offer an acceptable alternative to the traditional antisep tic handwash and may reduce skin damage to health care professionals' hands .