Lower Mortality in Nursing Homes Linked to Hand Hygiene Program

HealthDay News — A multifaceted hand hygiene (HH) program may have a short-term impact on mortality in nursing homes (NHs), according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control.

Laura Temime, from Laboratoire MESuRS in Paris, and colleagues assessed the impact of a multifaceted HH program on the infectious risk in NHs. Twenty-six NHs were randomly assigned to either the control or the intervention group, which consisted of implementation of a bundle of HH-related measures over 1 year, including increased availability of alcohol-based hand rub, HH promotion, staff education, and local work groups.

The researchers found that the overall hand rub consumption was higher in the intervention group over the 1-year study period. 

The 2 groups did not differ with respect to hospitalizations, but the intervention group had significantly lower mortality (2.1 vs 2.65 per 100 residents per month) and antibiotic prescriptions (5.0 vs 5.8 defined daily doses per 100 resident days).

“A multifaceted HH intervention may have a short-term impact on mortality in NHs,” the authors wrote. “Nevertheless, other strategies may remain necessary to reduce morbidity.”

Reference

Temime L, Cohen N, Ait-Bouziad K, et al. Impact of a multicomponent hand hygiene–related intervention on the infectious risk in nursing homes: A cluster randomized trial. Am J Infect Control. 2018 Feb;46(2):173-179.