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H A N D
H Y G I E N E
stock is whether "rubbing" with alcohol-based products works better than "scrubbing" one's hands with a brush. You can answer this question by evaluating efficacy, tolerability, staff acceptance and cost.1
1. Efficacy
Scrubbing hands with a brush has been a long-standing practice in perioperative care. In 2002, however, the CDC published its latest hand-hygiene guidelines, which presented healthcare workers with a dramatic shift toward the preferential use of alcohol-based hand disinfectants in many settings.2 AORN
also endorsed the newer hand rub process as an alternative to surgical
scrubs.3
The guidelines' rationale was that alcohol-based products are just as effective or more so at killing microorganisms than antibacterial soaps. They provide
