Objective
To evaluate the effects of 4 different drying methods to remove bacteria from washed
hands.
Subjects and Methods
One hundred adult volunteers participated in this randomized prospective study. All
bacterial counts were determined using a modified glove-juice sampling procedure.
The difference was determined between the amounts of bacteria on hands artificially
contaminated with the bacterium Micrococcus luteus before washing with a nonantibacterial
soap and after drying by 4 different methods (cloth towels accessed by a rotary dispenser,
paper towels from a stack on the hand-washing sink, warm forced air from a mechanical
hand-activated dryer, and spontaneous room air evaporation). The results were analyzed
using a nonparametric analysis (the Friedman test). By this method, changes in bacterial
colonyforming unit values for each drying method were ranked for each subject.
Results
The results for 99 subjects were evaluable. No statistically significant differences
were noted in the numbers of colony-forming units for each drying method (P = .72).
Conclusion
These data demonstrate no statistically significant differences in the efficiency
of 4 different handdrying methods for removing bacteria from washed hands.
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© 2000 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
