Eficacia de la higiene de manos con un preparado de base alcohólica vs lavado de manos con agua y jabón

introduction: the effectiveness of alcohol-based handrub containing 80% ethanol or isopropyl alcohol 75%, as an alternative to handwashing with plain soap and water is the objective of global challenge for the safety of the patient, "clean care is safer care". objective: to measure effectiveness on removing germs of alcohol-based handrub proposed by the world health organization. materials and methods: we included 103 health workers, 17.5% physicians and 82.5% nurses who worked in a hospital. 332 samples were taken before and after each technique results: 28.3% samples were identified coloni forming units before handwashing and 15.3% in the posterior (p=0.234), with alcohol-based handrub in the sample previous 25.6% and after the hygiene 2.4% (p= 0.000). coagulase-negative staphylococci were identified in 25.9% and 2.1% gram negative samples, in 4 cases was isolated enterobacter sp. the alcohol-based handrub was effective when calculated before and handrubbing (rr 0.10 ci 0.02-0.39) when compared with the technique handwashing with soap and water (rr 0.12 ci 0.03- 0.5). the technique of handwashing was not effective (rr 0.71 ci 0.43-1.18) conclusion: alcohol-based handrub prepared using the suggested recipe by the world health organization is more effective in removing germs than handwashing with soap. (acta med colomb 2011; 36: 181-186)