Importance of hand germ contamination in health-care workers as possible carriers of nosocomial infections Importância da contaminação das mãos por germes, em trabalhadores da saúde, como possíveis transmissores de infecções hospitalares

• Published in: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Main Authors: Mónica NOGUERAS, Nicolás MARINSALTA, Mauricio ROUSSELL, Rodolfo NOTARIO
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2001
• Subjects: Hand washing; Hospital infection; Colonization; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0036-46652001000300006; https://doaj.org/article/227fe167cb1548c791da9e2dbd4c3c52

The importance of hands in the transmission of nosocomial infection has been world wide admitted. However, it is difficult to induce this behavior in health-care workers. The aim of the present work was to point out the importance of hand bacteria colonization, the influence of hand washing and of patient physical examination. One hundred health-care workers were randomly divided in two groups: Group A without hand washing previous to patient physical examination or handling (PPE); group B with hand washing previous to PPE. Direct fingerprint samples in Columbia agar before and after PPE were obtained. The colonies were counted and identified by conventional techniques, and antibiograms according to NCCLS were performed. Before PPE group A participants showed a high number of bacteria regarding group B participants (73.9 Vs 20.7; p < 0.001); 44 out of 50 participants were carriers of potentially pathogen bacteria. No group B participants were carriers of potential pathogen bacteria before PPE. The latter group showed an increase in number of bacteria after PPE (20.7 CFU (before) Vs 115.9 CFU (after); p < 0.001). Sixteen group B participants were contaminated after PPE with potential pathogens such as S. aureus (50% of them meticillin resistant); Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis, half of them multiresistant. We can conclude on the importance of these results to implement educational programs and to provide the health-care workers with the proper commodities to fulfill this practice. A importância das mãos na transmissão de infecções hospitalares é aceita mundialmente. Todavia, é difícil introduzir este procedimento entre os trabalhadores da saúde. Este trabalho pretendeu evidenciar a colonização das mãos por bactérias e a influência da lavagem de mãos e o exame físico dos pacientes. 100 profisionais de saúde foram divididos, ao acaso em dois grupos: A - sem lavagem de mãos antes do exame físico ou manejo dos pacientes (PPE); B - com lavagem prévia das mãos antes do PPE. ...