rss
Br J Ophthalmol 2005;89:1541-1542 doi:10.1136/bjo.2005.072538
  • Letter

Hand hygiene in routine glaucoma clinics

  1. E Mensah,
  2. I E Murdoch,
  3. K Binstead,
  4. C Rotheram,
  5. W Franks
  1. Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, City Road, London EC1V 2PD, UK
  1. Correspondence to: E Mensah Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, City Road, London EC1V 2PD, UK; eveoshaol.com
  • Accepted 21 May 2005

Nosocomial infection occurs via the hands of healthcare workers (HCWs).1 Hand hygiene reduces hospital infection rates; however, HCWs seldom comply with this.2

We determined how often ophthalmologists and allied professionals cleaned their hands and whether intervention was effective.

Participants, methods, and results

We conducted the study in the daily glaucoma clinics of Moorfields Eye Hospital where policy states that all HCWs must clean their hands between patients.

For 1 week, hand hygiene practice was monitored covertly by two observers. Potential hand cleaning opportunities were before or during patient contact, before or after manipulative procedures, and after glove removal. Manipulative procedures were defined as 5-fluorouracil subconjunctival injection, taking an eye swab, suture, or supramid removal, and bleb needling or massage.

Without revealing how the study was conducted, preliminary results were …

[Full text of this article]

This Article

  1. Extract
  2. Full text
  3. PDF

Responses

  1. Submit a response
  2. No responses published

Register for free content

The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.

Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.