Effectiveness of Alcohol-Based Hand Rubs for Removal of Clostridium difficile Spores from Hands

@article{Jabbar2010EffectivenessOA,
  title={Effectiveness of Alcohol-Based Hand Rubs for Removal of Clostridium difficile Spores from Hands},
  author={Umair Jabbar and Julie Leischner and Douglas J. Kasper and Robert Gerber and Susan P. Sambol and Jorge P. Parada and Stuart Johnson and Dale N. Gerding},
  journal={Infection Control \&\#x0026; Hospital Epidemiology},
  year={2010},
  volume={31},
  pages={565 - 570}
}
Background. Alcohol-based hand rubs (ABHRs) are an effective means of decreasing the transmission of bacterial pathogens. Alcohol is not effective against Clostridium difficile spores. We examined the retention of C. difficile spores on the hands of volunteers after ABHR use and the subsequent transfer of these spores through physical contact. Methods. Nontoxigenic C. difficile spores were spread on the bare palms of 10 volunteers. Use of 3 ABHRs and chlorhexidine soap-and-water washing were… 
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TLDR
Alcohol gel dispensers used commonly as the hand sanitization method of choice in hospitals may be fomites for C. difficile, but other potentially pathogenis are not.
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TLDR
There was no significant difference in efficacy between the use of plain soap and antiseptic soap, and handwashing with soap is appropriate for removing B. cereus spores from hands, while alcohol-based hand-rubbing is not effective.
Novel Strategies for Enhanced Removal of Persistent Bacillus anthracis Surrogates and Clostridium difficile Spores from Skin
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Bed baths with Vashe were effective for reducing C. difficile on skin and Vashe was well-tolerated with no evidence of adverse effects on skin, suggesting a novel strategy to reduce the burden of spores on skin.
Commentary: Reexamining Methods and Messaging for Hand Hygiene in the Era of Increasing Clostridium difficile Colonization and Infection
TLDR
It is confirmed that hand washing with soap and water demonstrates efficacy superior to that of ABHR use in reducing C. difficile spore counts on hands, and experts and clinicians have expressed concern about the patient and situation-spe­ cific nature of the recommendations.
Efficacy of Liquid Soap and Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitisers in Eradicating Viable Conidia of the Mushroom Pathogen Lecanicillium fungicola on Contaminated Hands
TLDR
Regular use of ABHSs by staff on mushroom farms may help to reduce the incidence of dry bubble disease and their use could also be beneficial in other areas of intensive horticulture or agriculture where human hands are known to transmit plant pathogens to uninfected plants.
Contamination of healthcare workers' hands with bacterial spores.
A Randomized Trial of Soap and Water Hand Wash Versus Alcohol Hand Rub for Removal of Clostridium difficile Spores from Hands of Patients
TLDR
An environmental disinfection odyssey: evaluation of sequential interventions to improve disinfection of Clostridium difficile isolation rooms and the impact on the rates of CDI from 2002 to 2007.
Efficacy of the World Health Organization–recommended handwashing technique and a modified washing technique to remove Clostridium difficile from hands
Aseptic Stethoscope Barriers Prevent C difficile Transmission In Vitro
Effectiveness of Hand Hygiene for Removal of Clostridium difficile Spores from Hands
TLDR
The data suggest that surrogate organisms were not predictive of C. difficile spore removal and that hand hygiene preparations were significantly more effective than tap water at removing C.difficile.
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