Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
1991-11-14
pubmed:abstractText
An outbreak strain of Enterococcus faecium, bearing plasmid-mediated vancomycin resistance, and an epidemic gentamicin-resistant, multiply-resistant strain of Enterobacter cloacae, both survived well on fingertips of three volunteers for up to 30 minutes after inoculation. Hand disinfection of inoculated fingers with 60% isopropyl alcohol, or with alcoholic chlorhexidine, reliably gave a 4 log10 reduction of both test organisms. Enterobacter cloacae could not be detected in any finger washings, even by enrichment culture. Chlorhexidine digluconate and povidone-iodine were also effective against E. faecium and Ent. cloacae, giving 4 log10 reductions, but finger washings taken after disinfection yielded low counts of the test strains, e.g. less than 45 recoverable colony forming units (cfu) per finger. Handwashing with soap and water was the least reliable method. The epidemicity, serious antimicrobial multiple resistance and survival on finger-tips of these two strains justifies the use of handwashing agents which have maximum effect. The rapid bactericidal (and residual) activity of alcoholic chlorhexidine suggests that, on the basis of present evidence, it is the preferred agent for hygienic hand disinfection against such strains.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jul
pubmed:issn
0195-6701
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
18
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
211-8
pubmed:dateRevised
2004-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1991
pubmed:articleTitle
Hygienic hand disinfection for the removal of epidemic vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium and gentamicin-resistant Enterobacter cloacae.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Medical Microbiology, King's College School of Medicine & Dentistry, London.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article