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Impact of Handwashing on Mortality in Intensive Care: Examination of the Evidence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Bertil Nystrom*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Microbiology Huddinge University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract

Our highest priority should be to increase compliance with hand hygiene guidelines. It is food for thought that in several studies the group with the lowest compliance in intensive care settings is intensive care physicians. It is a reasonable assumption that they are role models for the rest of the ICU staff. Studies on practical and efficient means to increase compliance with hand hygiene guidelines and to influence behavior surely are needed more than are elaborate and sophisticated studies on the effects of handwashing.

Type
From the Third International Conference on the Prevention of Infection
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1994

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