https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(18)30366-9/pdf
A hygienic solution
Single use towels offer the most hygienic hand drying solution for public washrooms, says the European Tissue Symposium.
Maintaining optimal hygiene and minimising the spread of bacteria and infection in public washrooms is important for public health. In a hospital setting – where toilets can be frequented by patients, visitors and staff – it is especially crucial in order to avoid cross contamination and infection.
Hand hygiene is widely recognised as a fundamental component of infection prevention. However, most advice and guidance is focused on effective hand washing, while less attention is paid to the importance of effective hand drying in completing the process.
Studies by Professor Mark Wilcox of Leeds University and Leeds Teaching Hospitals, and Keith Redway, Emeritus Professor at the University of Westminster, have sought to fill this gap and explore the implications of hand drying in minimising the spread of infection.
Professor Wilcox’s latest research project offers the first real life study of its kind and provides important evidence that single use paper towels offer the most hygienic hand drying option in public washrooms. It builds on compelling laboratory and in-situ evidence (from multiple studies) that electric dryers contaminate washroom air and surfaces with bacteria and viruses.
This multisite hospital study across three countries provides tangible, real-world proof that washrooms, frequented by visitors, patients and staff, using jet air dryers for hand drying have significantly higher bacterial contamination than those with paper towels.
26 | COVER STORY
The study reveals how antibiotic-resistant bacteria – including MRSA, ESBL -producing enterobacteria and enterococci – are detected more frequently in toilets using jet air dryers and concludes that paper towels offer the most hygienic way to dry hands and minimise the spread of bacteria following a visit to the washroom.
The findings have important implications for minimising the risk of cross-infection in hospital toilet areas and highlight the need for proper consultation between infection control teams and facilities managers when taking decisions about which type of hand drying method to offer.
Study undertaken in France, Italy and UK
The study examined the extent of environmental contamination in hospital toilets from potential bacterial pathogens according to hand drying method. The design was conceived by the team at the University of Leeds/Leeds Teaching Hospitals, UK, and was executed independently together with respected research scientists at two further hospitals – Hôpital Saint-Antoine (AP-HP), Paris, France, and Udine University Hospital, Italy.
Two toilets in each of the three hospitals were compared over a 12-week period. Each was equipped with both paper towel dispensers and jet air hand dryers, but only one hand drying method was available at any given time. Each washroom was frequented by patients, visitors and staff and bacteria were cultured from the air, surrounding surfaces and dust.
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