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A comparison of the antimicrobial effect of 0.5% chlorhexidine (Hibistat®) and 70% isopropyl alcohol on hands contaminated with Serratia marcescens
Author(s) -
ALY RAZA,
MAIBACH HOWARD I.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
clinical and experimental dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1365-2230
pISSN - 0307-6938
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2230.1980.tb01688.x
Subject(s) - chlorhexidine , isopropyl alcohol , antiseptic , antimicrobial , medicine , serratia marcescens , chlorhexidine gluconate , alcohol , contamination , microbiology and biotechnology , dentistry , chemistry , biology , ecology , biochemistry , organic chemistry , pathology , escherichia coli , gene
Summary Two antimicrobial preparations for handwashing were compared by the‘gloved handwash method’ in seventy‐two subjects. The test preparation was 0.5% chlorhexidine gluconate alcoholic‐emollient handwash (Hibistat®); the reference agent was 70% isopropyl alcohol. The hands were contaminated with Serratia marcescens and disinfected with each antiseptic twenty‐five times over an 8 h day. Bacterial counts were obtained for each hand after initial contamination, and after 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 contamination treatment procedures. There was a statistically significant reduction in recovery of S. marcescens after chlorhexidine treatment compared to alcohol ( P < 0.01). When recovery of organisms was plotted against the number of handwashes, there was a significant linear reduction in transient flora for chlorhexidine treated hands ( P < 0.01) but not for alcohol treated hands ( P < 0.20).