Touch contamination levels during anaesthetic procedures and their relationship to hand hygiene procedures: a clinical audit

After different methods of hand preparation, volunteers rolled segments of sterile central venous catheter between their fingertips, and bacterial tra nsfer was evaluated by standardized quantitative culture. The number of bac teria transferred differed between methods (P<0.001). Comparisons were made with the control group (no preparation at all; median, third quartile and maximum count=6.5, 24, 55). Bacterial transfer was greatly increased with w et hands (1227, 1932, 3254; P<0.001). It was reduced with a new rapid metho d, based on thorough drying with a combination of 10 s using a cloth towel followed by either 10 or 20 s with a hot-air towel (0, 3, 7 and 0, 4, 30, r espectively; P=0.007 and 0.004, respectively). When asked to follow their p ersonal routines, 10 consultant anaesthetists used a range of methods. Coll ectively, these were not significantly better than control (7.5, 15, 55; P= 0.73), and neither was an air towel alone (2.5, 15, 80; P=0.176) nor the ho spital's standard procedure (0, 1, 500; P=0.035). If hand preparation is ne eded, an adequate and validated method should be used, together with thorou gh hand drying.