By Peter Laird, MD
The NEJM has an excellent back to basics video on hand hygiene. This simple measure may save more lives than many of our high tech medical therapies combined. It is time, long past the time that the American medical establishment paid attention to this simple but effective infection control measure, most especially in the dialysis unit.
About the Procedure
Health-care associated infections are a threat to patient safety and the most common adverse events resulting from a stay in the hospital.1 Approximately 5 to 10% of hospitalized patients in the developed world acquire such infections, and the burden of disease is even higher in developing countries. Proper use of hand hygiene is a critical to the prevention of these infections, but compliance among health care workers is most often below 40%. . . . .
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMvcm0903599?query=TOC
Several years ago, I attended a conference where a physician from the CDC spoke. He talked for about an hour and at the end said (and I paraphrase): "I could have let you all go out for coffee instead of listening to me for so long, because my whole presentation could have been summed up in three words--WASH YOUR HANDS"
I couldn't agree more!!!
Posted by: Denise Eilers | Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 07:41 PM