Observation on expiration date and disinfectant efficacy of an alcohol-based hand disinfectant / 中国感染控制杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To understand the expiration date of alcohol-based hand disinfectant after it is opened for use,and provide reference for rational clinical application of alcohol-based hand disinfectant.Methods 20 bottles of the same brand alcohol-based hand disinfectant which opened at the same time by the clinical departments were selected as the study object,hand hygiene compliance in theses departments ranked fourth from the end in the hospital,specimens were taken on the first day after opening,and repeated every 10 days until the disinfectant was used up.Hand specimens were also taken after disinfected by disinfectant.Qualified condition of disinfectant and hand specimens was detected.Results A total of 98 disinfectant specimens were collected,by naked eye observation,20 bottles of alcohol-based hand disinfectant were free of discoloration,precipitation,and suspended matter during the whole study period.The qualified detection rates of alcohol-based hand disinfectant within 60 days after opening were all 100%.44 hand specimens were taken and detected after disinfection,3 of which were unqualified(all were disinfected by alcohol-based hand disinfectant 50 days after opening),then detected again after disinfected by the same batch of disinfectant,all were qualified,which suggested that unqualified detection result of hand specimens was not due to disinfectant.Conclusion Alcohol-based hand disinfectant still has a good bactericidal effect on the sixth day after opening.