Abstract
The aim of study was to examine the clinical utility of the water-less scrub method under the experimental conditions. A randomized control trial with a counter-balanced design, including 19 adults (ten women), was performed using three methods, i.e., the water-less scrub method, the hand wipe method, and the control. Three indexes were used to evaluate the effects of various strategies：total colony counts on the hand, bacterial identification, and a subjective evaluation of comfort using the visual analogue scale (VAS). The total colony counts after using the water-less scrub method and the hand wipe method were significantly lower than those for the control. However, no significant difference in bacterial count was detected between the water-less scrub method and hand wipe method. Hand hygiene by the water-less scrub method was most effective with respect to bacterial elimination among the three methods. Gram-positive rods, gram-positive cocci, gram-negative rods, non-fermenting gram-negative rods, yeast-like-cells, and mold were evaluated. Bacterial species associated with food poisoning, including gram-positive rods as well as non-fermenting gram-negative rods, which are opportunistic pathogens, were significantly reduced by the water-less scrub method and the hand wipe method in comparison with the control. Moreover, the VAS scores for comfort were significantly higher for the water-less scrub method and the hand wipe method than the control, respectively. These findings suggest that hand hygiene by the water-less scrub method could be useful for bacterial elimination, particularly in emergency acute situations such as the disaster areas, and is a convenient for practical applications, similar to the hand wipe method.
