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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1978

A test for 'hygienic' hand disinfection.

A standardised test procedure is described in which finger-tips are inoculated with broth cultures of organisms (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphyloccocus saprophyticus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa): counts are made from washings of hands after disinfection with various antiseptic-detergents, alcoholic solutions, or unmedicated soap. 70% alcohol, with or without chlorhexidine, was the most effective preparation. The two antiseptic detergents showed variable results, but against Gram-negative bacilli neither was significantly more effective than plain soap. Some tests were also made on the death rate of organisms dried on the skin without disinfection.

Anti-Infective Agents, Local↗
PubMed2026

Advancing the science of Staphylococcus aureus infection prevention in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Despite advances in infection prevention, infections due to Staphylococcus aureus continue to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality in NICUs. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) using advanced analytic approaches for defining transmission have shed new insights into transmission and persistence patterns in the NICU. WGS has also helped uncover important associations between transmission, persistence, and the risk of invasive infections. Current infection prevention strategies rely on hand hygiene compliance and surveillance and decolonization of patients positive for S. aureus. Parent decolonization may also play a role in decreasing parent-child transmission. In the future, precision surveillance of high-risk strains and targeted infection prevention efforts to decrease bacterial burden of those specific strains may provide a more effective and efficient approach to decreasing risk of invasive infections.

Humans↗
PubMed2026

How AI-supported intelligent systems support infection prevention and control training in healthcare: A systematic review of educational functions and outcomes.

AIMS: Artificial intelligence (AI)-supported intelligent systems have been increasingly incorporated into infection prevention and control (IPC) education and training, primarily to support the monitoring of observable behaviors and the provision of feedback. However, existing evidence has focused largely on short-term compliance outcomes, with limited synthesis of the educational role of AI-supported intelligent systems in supporting sustained IPC competence. This systematic review examined how AI-supported intelligent systems have been designed and used to support IPC education and training, with a focus on system characteristics, educational functions, and reported outcomes. DESIGN: A systematic literature search was conducted across the PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane, and CINAHL databases. DATA SOURCES: A total of 18 studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings were qualitatively synthesized according to system design characteristics, educational functions, and outcome domains. REVIEW METHODS: Methodological quality was appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. RESULTS: Most AI-supported intelligent systems focused on hand hygiene and relied on fully automated monitoring systems to capture behaviors and provide performance feedback. Educational functions were predominantly limited to performance assessment, automated feedback, and reminders. Outcomes were mainly measured using compliance or performance metrics, whereas sustained behavioral change and decision quality were rarely assessed. CONCLUSIONS: AI-supported intelligent systems have been used primarily to reinforce short-term IPC performance and compliance. However, their current applications for supporting sustained competence over time remain limited. The findings of this review suggest that AI-supported intelligent systems may serve as maintenance-oriented educational support by extending learning beyond initial instruction through repeated practice and feedback. Future research should prioritize outcome measures that capture the durability of performance and decision-making processes to better align AI-supported intelligent systems used in IPC education and training with the educational demands of clinical practice.

Humans↗
PubMed1977

[Comparison of efficacy of 14 procedures for the hygienic disinfection of hands (author's transl)].

The efficacy of 14 procedures for the hygienic disinfection of hands mostly with commerical preparations was tested by a new experimental model developed at the Institute of Hygiene of the university Vienna (1,3). The disinfectant power was clearly dependent on the duration of treatment as well as on the kind of alcohol used in the preparation (n-Propanol better than iso-Propanol better than Ethanol). After one minute the efficacy of all preparations containing one of the three alcohols as active agent was well comparable to that of the standard procedure which according to our proposal (5) uses iso-Propanol 60% (ml/ml) for 1 minute. For preparations with n-Propanol as the main active agent (Satinazid and Sterillium) this was true even after treatment for a period as short as 0.5 min. In our opinion disinfecting detergents are out of place for hygienic disinfection of hands. One preparation representing this group (Versuchspräparat A) was far less effective than the standard procedure.

1-Propanol↗
PubMed1978

Comparison of traditional and experimental expanded function dental hygiene students in hand scaling.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether an expanded function dental hygiene curriculum prepared students to perform traditional dental hygiene clinical procedures at the same level of competency as a traditional dental hygiene curriculum. Hand scaling was selected as the most appropriate procedure to evaluate. Fourth-year dental hygiene students enrolled in a special expanded function curriculum were compared to fourth-year students enrolled in the traditional dental hygiene curriculum during a controlled one-day experiment. Results indicated no statistically significant differences between the two student groups in the performance of scaling procedures as measured by number of tooth surfaces on which calculus remained. It was concluded that the University of Iowa expanded function dental hygiene curriculum prepared students to perform hand scaling procedures at a competency level comparable to that of the traditional curriculum.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1977

[Usability of three alcohols for a standard disinfection method to be employed for the evaluation of procedures for the hygienic disinfection of hands (author's transl)].

Following a former suggestion (4) always to evaluate, the efficacy of procedures for Hygienic disinfection of hands in comparison with the results of a certain standard disinfection method, Ethanol, iso- and n-Propanol were tested in various concentrations and for various times of action on their usability in such a standard method. The disinfecting power was dependent upon (i) the alcohol (Ethanol less than iso-Propanol less than n-Propanol), (ii) the concentration (Ethanol: 60 less than 70 less than 80% ml/ml, iso-Propanol: 50 less than 60 less than 70, n-Propanol: 40 less than 50 less than 60 = 70) and (iii) the time of action (0,5 less than 1 less than 2 min). n-Propanol proved to be the fastest acting disinfectant. However, as standard disinfection method iso-Propanol (60% ml/ml) being used for 1 min has been proposed. Furthermore, the following results that have been obtained also in former investigations (8) could be confirmed: (i) there is no systematic difference between the release of test-bacteria from the fingertips of right and left hands of test-persons (ii). The efficacy of procedures for Hygienic disinfection of hands is besides other factors influenced by the testpersons. This factor may be eliminated by using the same testpersons for both, the disinfection procedure under investigation and the standard method. The results of both may, then, be related to each other and the efficacy of the former may be evaluated in comparison to the latter.

1-Propanol↗
PubMed1978

Transient skin flora: their removal by cleansing or disinfection in relation to their mode of deposition.

A suspension of Staphylococcus aureus deposited on the skin was much more effectively removed by soap-and-water washing when it had been spread and allowed to dry (mean survival 2%) than when it had been rubbed on to the skin (mean survival 29.9%); when antiseptics (70% ethyl alcohol, Hibiscrub without added water) were used, there was no difference between their action against bacteria dried on and bacteria rubbed on to the skin; both of these methods, and especially alcohol, were more effective than soap and water. When a detergent-disinfectant method (washing with Hibiscrub and water) was used, there was a significantly greater effect against rubbed-on than against dried-on bacteria; soap and water was slightly more effective than Hibiscrub and water against the latter. The need to reappraise methods of reducing transient skin flora in 'hygienic' hand cleansing and the tests used for this purpose are discussed.

Bacteriological Techniques↗
PubMed1978

[Evaluation of procedures for hygienic disinfection of hands: comparison of two methods, for artificially contaminating hands and use of an automatic colony-counter (author's transl)].

Testing procedures for the Hygienic Disinfection of hands, two kinds of artificial contamination have been compared: Application of one drop of bacterial suspension onto each fingertip as described in the DGHM-"Richtlinien" and immersion of hands as described in our previous papers. When using our method, fingertips released higher numbers of testbacteria. Since pre- as well as post-values were elevated, disinfection-tests applying one of each contamination method resulted in log10 reductions which did not differ significantly. Using an automated scanning colony counter we were able to save 2/3 of time otherwise required for manual counts. Up to 10(2) colonies per plate manual counts were practically identical with the counters results, whereas with higher colony-numbers the counter showed an increasing tendency to under-estimate the numbers of colonies. Since colonies of skin-staphylococci are not recognised by the automated counter, we cultured our rinsing-fluids on nutrient agar containing 0.05% of sodium-desoxycholate in order to inhibit the autochthonous skin flora. This supplement influenced the colony counts of our test-bacterium to a very minor degree only, the reduction factors were not at all altered.

Bacteriological Techniques↗
PubMed2025

Candida auris outbreak in a cardiothoracic transplant intensive care unit: implications for infection prevention practices and keeping pace with an evolving landscape.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the mitigation strategies for a Candida auris outbreak in a cardiothoracic transplant intensive care unit (CTICU) and its implications for infection prevention practices. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study from July 2023 to February 2024. SETTING: A large academic medical center. METHODS: A multidisciplinary team convened to conduct the outbreak investigation and develop mitigation strategies in the CTICU. RESULTS: From July 2023 to February 2024, 34 possible hospital-onset cases of C. auris were identified in our CTICU. Whole-genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis based on pairwise single nucleotide polymorphism (WG-SNP) distance revealed two distinct outbreak clusters. Of the 34 patients, 11 (32.3%) were solid organ transplant recipients and 12 (35.3%) had a mechanical circulatory support device. Of the cohort, only 11/34 (32.3%) had prior exposure to high-risk healthcare facilities within six months prior to admission, as follows: acute inpatient rehabilitation facilities (AIRs) (n = 5, 14.7%), skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) (n = 3, 8.8%), and long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs) (n = 3, 8.8%). The cohort had a median of 22.0 antibiotic-days prior to their positive results. Five (14.7%) patients had C. auris candidemia, three of whom expired likely due to infection. Infection Prevention (IP) interventions addressed several modes of transmission, including healthcare personnel hands, shared patient equipment, and the environment. CONCLUSION: Our experience suggests that the epidemiology of C. auris may be changing, pointing towards a rising prevalence in acute care settings. IP interventions targeting hand hygiene behavior and promoting centralizing cleaning and disinfection of shared patient equipment may have contributed to outbreak resolution.

Humans↗
PubMed1977

[Testmethod for the evaluation of procedures for the hygienic disinfection of hands. Part 1: Discription of testmethod (author's transl)].

A detailed test design for the evaluation of procedures for the hygienic disinfection of hands is described together with suitable methods for statistical analysis of the results. In principle the release of testbacteria from the finger-tips of artificially contaminated hands is measured before and after disinfection. A procedure under test is accepted if it is not less effective than a standard-disinfection procedure. As such the disinfection with iso-propanol 60% (ml/ml) applied through 1 min was agreed upon. This standard procedure is to be performed the same day with the same day with the same testpersons and under identical environmental conditions prior to the procedure under test.

1-Propanol↗