JANUARY 8, 2018

Shorter Hand Sanitizer Use May Be More Effective

By Ethan Covey

European researchers found that halving the recommended usage time of hand sanitizers may result in similar—if not improved—outcomes.

Such a change—reducing recommended usage from 30 to 15 seconds—also increases hand antisepsis compliance (Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38[12]:1430-1434).

The study, which was conducted at the University Hospital of Greifswald, in Germany, was motivated by frequent clinician complaints that the 20 to 30 seconds of rubbing