Failure of hand disinfection with frequent hand washing: a need for prolonged field studies

In a prolonged field trial a 4% chlorhexidine digluconate detergent scrub (Hibiscrub^R), that had earlier proved to be an effective hand disinfectant, was studied in hospital wards. Finger tips were found to harbour more bacteria than the hand dorsum and the samples collected from them yielded more information on the bacteriological and dermatological effects of hand disinfectants in practice.