Trattamento igienico delle mani per il controllo delle infezioni

Objectives

To reduce the incidence rates of infections in the dental surgery environment, it is necessary to control the transmission of pathogens caused by the lack of hand hygiene of dental healthcare workers. The work presented is based on recent developments that emerged from a review of the latest scientific evidence. Its purpose is to provide an easy-to-consult guide to improve the compliance with new procedures and modern hydro-alcoholic preparations by dentists.

Materials and methods

Hand hygiene procedures and products were assessed by carrying out a concise and critical review of the most recent and academic literature on the topic.

Results and conclusions

The protection of patients and healthcare workers is guaranteed by a correct hand hygiene as well. Indeed, the WHO considers hand hygiene of high priority and promoted a campaign through the mass communication media called Save lives: wash your hands. At the time of the A(H1N1) influence virus, the Italian Ministry of Health put great emphasis on the importance of handwashing. In Europe, today we tend to replace the quite harsh washing with water, soap or detergents with the use of hydro-alcoholic preparations. In this paper we describe the methods and timings that can reduce the need to wash one's hands. These provide the same biocide effectiveness, yet they require less time and are simpler to use, thereby improving compliance of dental health workers in respect of hand hygiene.