The Comparison between Two Ways for Hands Decontamination of Hospital Personnel: with Water and Soap or Alcohol

One of the most important ways of infectious transmission is the personnel’s contaminated hands. In orther to compare water and soap with alcohol in eradication of staff hands’ pathogens، this study was carried out on 100 personnesl in Imamreza hospital. In this study we took samples from 100 personnel''s palms in different wards of hospital while doing their nursing activites. Washing hands with water and soap or 70٪alcohol was performed by them for 20 seconds with the manager observation، then the sampling was repeated and transfored to bloody agar culture unit. Washing hands with soap or alcohol decreased the pathogens of the personnel hands. (p<0/001). Alcohol was more effective (76. 9%) than water and soap with (23. 1%) (p<0/002). The most common pathogens were: Staphylococcus epidermidis، Kllebsiella pneumoniae and E. coli. The most contaminated department was ICU ward (100%). Hand washing before and after contact with patients is an easy way to control hospital infections and if done with alcohol is more effective than with water and soap in eradicating staff hands’ microorganisms.