Issue Date: June 28, 2009
Simple advice to avoid a deadly infection
As a child, I heard it a thousand times: "Wash your hands before coming to dinner." When I got to medical school, my father (a physician) added: "If you want to keep both you and your patients healthy, wash your hands."
In one study, hand-washing led to almost 50% fewer MRSA infections.
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The recent rise in infections from the bacteria known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, only confirms the importance of the hygiene/health connection. But the simple fact that so many of these infections get transmitted by health care workers shows we could all use a refresher on hygiene habits.
A recent study in the "Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management" looked at the effectiveness of hand-washing in preventing MRSA. Health care workers at a medical center outside Baltimore wondered whether a more systematic approach to enforcing hand-washing would affect their rate of infections. They put together a protocol designed to remind the 2,200 employees and 1,200 physicians about hand-washing and placed hand hygiene teams throughout the hospital.
If a staff member was seen exiting a patient's room without washing his hands or using hand sanitizer, a "hand hygiene champion" would remind him of the importance of doing so. This may sound heavy-handed (no pun intended), but the results were impressive.
Hand hygiene compliance increased from about 40% to more than 90%. More important, over the three-year study period, hospital-transmitted MRSA infections declined by 49%, even though the number of patients admitted with community-acquired MRSA infections rose.
I find studies like this to be empowering. Yes, researchers are looking for high-tech ways to fight MRSA, but at the same time, a simple solution like hand-washing works.
Tedd Mitchell, M.D., president and CEO of Dallas' Cooper Clinic, writes HealthSmart every week.
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