Impact of shortening the duration of application and the standardized rubbing sequence as well as the reduction of the disinfectant volume used for the hygienic hand rub with 2 - propanol ( 60 % V / V )

of drying the hands was 23 s, hence longer than the duration of the hand rub. To shorten the standardized technique of hand rubbing from 6 to 5 or 4 steps and decreasing the number of repetitions from 5 to 3 times per step had only small effects, but with the 4-step sequence the bacterial reduction was less pronounced such that this procedure cannot be considered equivalent to the standard. Conclusion: Shortening of the duration of hygienic hand disinfection with 2-propanol 60 % V/V together with a reduction to halve the disinfectant volume leads clearly to a reduction of bactericidal efficacy. When considering the assessment of products by application of EN 1500, shortening of the duration of a hand rub to 15 s should, according to present knowledge, be avoided despite of the clinical practice of a possibly very short hand rubbing procedure. Simplification of the standardized hand rubbing technique by carrying out only 5 steps instead of 6 seems to be possible with a rather small loss of efficacy. Hyg Med 2009; 34 [1/2]: 19–23