• Ethanol-based hand rub
• Eukaryota
• Hand antisepsis
• Infection prevention and control
• Prokaryota
• Skin microbiome

• Humans
• Microbiota/drug effects
• Hand/microbiology
• Ethanol/pharmacology
• Health Personnel
• Adult
• Hand Disinfection/methods
• Anti-Infective Agents, Local/pharmacology
• Female
• Skin/microbiology
• RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
• Antisepsis/methods

• adsorption
• alcohol
• halogenated
• separation
• volatile organic compounds
• zeolitic imidazolate framework

• ANR-20-CE04-0012 Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)

• adherence hand antisepsis
• adherence hand disinfection
• alcohol-based hand rub requirements
• hand antisepsis
• hand disinfection
• hand wash
• hygienic hand antisepsis
• hygienic hand disinfection
• liability
• listing alcohol-based hand rubs
• skin care
• skin protection
• surgical hand antisepsis
• surgical hand disinfection
• wash lotion requirements

• epidemiology
• exposure analysis
• irritant contact dermatitis
• occupational

• Humans
• COVID-19/prevention & control
• COVID-19/epidemiology
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Soaps/adverse effects
• Male
• Hand Dermatoses/epidemiology
• Hand Dermatoses/etiology
• Female
• Adult
• Hand Disinfection
• Dermatitis, Occupational/epidemiology
• Dermatitis, Occupational/etiology
• Eczema/epidemiology
• Middle Aged
• Self Report
• Water
• Occupational Exposure/adverse effects
• Health Personnel/statistics & numerical data
• SARS-CoV-2
• Disinfectants/adverse effects
• Surveys and Questionnaires
• Hand Hygiene

• AFA Försäkring

• antimicrobial
• olive oil
• ozone
• ozonides
• sunflower oil

• Animals
• Olea
• Helianthus
• Staphylococcus aureus
• Escherichia coli
• Anti-Infective Agents/pharmacology
• Plant Oils/pharmacology
• Plant Oils/chemistry
• Oils, Volatile/pharmacology
• Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology
• Seeds
• Microbial Sensitivity Tests
• Mammals

Healthcare workers often experience skin dryness and irritation from performing hand hygiene frequently. Low acceptability and tolerability of a formulation are barriers to hand hygiene compliance, though little research has been conducted on what specific types of formulation have higher acceptability than others.

To compare the acceptability and tolerability of an ethanol-based handrub gel with superfatting agents to the isopropanol-based formulations (a rub and a gel formulation) currently used by healthcare workers at the University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.

Forty-two participants were randomized to two sequences, testing the isopropanol-based formulation that they are using currently (Hopirub® or Hopigel®), and the ethanol-based formulation containing superfatting agents (Saniswiss Sanitizer Hands H1). Participants tested each of the formulations over 7–10 day work shifts, after which skin condition was assessed and feedback was collected.

H1 scored significantly better than the control formulations for skin dryness (P = 0.0209), and participants felt less discomfort in their hands when using that formulation (P = 0.0448). H1 caused less skin dryness than Hopirub®/Hopigel® (P = 0.0210). Though overall preference was quite polarized, 21 participants preferred H1 intervention formulation and 17 preferred the Hopirub®/Hopigel® formulation that they normally used in their care activities.

We observed a difference in acceptability and strongly polarized preferences among the participants' reactions to the formulations tested. These results indicate that giving healthcare workers a choice between different high-quality products is important to ensure maximum acceptability.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13756-022-01129-4.

Occupational hand dermatitis is common among healthcare workers, with increased incidence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Irritant contact dermatitis accounts for the majority of occupational hand dermatitis and is largely due to frequent contact with hand hygiene products. Long-term prognosis of occupational contact dermatitis is often very poor. This study aims to identify and implement suitable workplace interventions to aid in the recovery of occupational irritant hand dermatitis among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A quality improvement (QI) project was performed in a tertiary hospital using the Plan-Do-Study-Act model. Healthcare workers seen at the Occupational Dermatology Clinic from March 2020 to May 2021 for the first time for likely occupational irritant dermatitis were targeted for the project. Four workplace interventions were implemented: (a) substitute current alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) with a different, gentler ABHR, (b) alternate ABHR with gentle hand wash products, (c) temporary job modification with less clinical work (d) switch latex gloves to nitrile gloves. The improvement was assessed after 2 months of workplace intervention using a visual analogue scale, based on changes seen on photographs taken at the baseline and monthly review. The target improvement was set at 70% after 2 months of workplace interventions.

A total of 21 participants were included in the QI project. All participants were found to have significant improvement in their hand condition. The estimated mean reduction of signs and symptoms was 80% in comparison to their baseline hand condition before intervention.

Workplace interventions such as substituting irritant hand hygiene products with gentler alternatives and temporary reduction in clinical duties may be useful in improving the recovery rate of irritant hand dermatitis among healthcare workers. Areas with high hand hygiene workload or high incidences of hand dermatitis may opt to implement systemic workplace changes.

• Alcohols
• COVID-19
• Dermatitis, Irritant/epidemiology
• Dermatitis, Irritant/etiology
• Dermatitis, Occupational/diagnosis
• Dermatitis, Occupational/epidemiology
• Dermatitis, Occupational/etiology
• Health Personnel
• Humans
• Irritants
• Pandemics
• Workplace

Sanitization of inanimate objects or body surfaces using disinfectant is essential for eliminating disease-causing pathogens and maintaining personal hygiene. With the advent of health emergencies, the importance and high demand for hand sanitizers (HS) are observed in everyday life. It is also important to know the constituent added to formulate HS, as the presence of harsh chemicals can cause skin irritation. In this study, different spectroscopic techniques were used to assess several commercially available HS along with the in-house prepared HS as per the WHO protocol. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy identified the different HS chemical bonds and quantified the amount of alcohol and water in the HS. Varying amount of alcohols in HS, calibration profile was generated to identify its amount in commercial samples. Further, the commercial samples were also checked for contaminants whose presence in the HS might bring down its sanitization efficacy.

This study investigated the performance of 24 commercial disinfectants present on the market during last year according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Recently, national and international organizations of public health performed studies on disinfection products due to the increasing awareness of the potential and growing risks on human health, such as skin damage and reactions in the mucosal lining, especially for the healthcare workers in their frequent daily use. However, there are many limitations in the common cleaning/disinfection products on market as in the selection of effective disinfectants to decontaminate inanimate surfaces. We analyzed the disinfection power of hydrogen peroxide, quaternary ammonium compounds, alcohols, phenols and aldehydes used as active principles according to international guidelines. The antimicrobial properties were assessed by broth microdilution, and antibiofilm properties against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus); their virucidal efficacy was tested against Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The quaternary ammonium compounds demonstrated better efficacy than others and in some cases ready to use products had also virucidal and antimicrobial activities after dilution at 0.125%. The scientific evidence indicates that many commercial products are used at high concentrations and high doses and this could have deleterious effects both on human health and the environment. A lower concentration of active ingredients would avoid the excessive release of chemicals into the environment and improve skin tolerance, ensuring the health and safety protection of workers, including the healthcare operators at their workplace.

• COVID-19
• Coronavirinae
• Meta-analyses
• Review
• Systematic review

• 1-propanol
• 2-propanol
• CAS no. 7173-51-5
• didecyldimethylammonium chloride
• disinfectant
• ethanol
• isopropanol
• isopropyl alcohol

This review covers publications during the period of January 2020 to December 2020 on adverse reactions to antiseptic drugs and disinfectants. Specific agents discussed are alcohols (ethanol, isopropanol), aldehydes (formaldehyde), guanidines (chlorhexidine, polyhexamethylene guanidine, and polyhexamethylene biguanidine), benzalkonium compounds, triclocarban, povidone-iodine, and sodium hypochlorite. No new data were identified for glutaraldehyde, cetrimide, ethylene oxide, tosylchloramide, triclosan, iodine, and phenolic compounds. The use of antiseptic drugs and disinfectants has been considerably increased during 2020 in a variety of medical and occupational settings, in commerce and gastronomy, as well as in the household, due to their antiviral properties against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Exposure was additionally increased by widespread misinformation on social media for non-evidence based disinfectant use, even including ingestion or injection, as well as by questionable practices such as environmental spraying or disinfectant gates. Irritant effects on the respiratory system, skin and eyes were the most common adverse reaction, while the widespread and sometimes excessive use led to increased reports of poisonings, as well as cases of disinfectant adulteration including dilution into ineffective concentrations or addition of toxic agents such as methanol.

• alcohol-based hand rubs
• irritant contact dermatitis
• n-propanol
• skin barrier