The impact of alcohol hand sanitizer use on infection rates in an extended care facility.

BACKGROUND: Nosocomial infections are a major problem in health care facilities, resulting in extended durations of care and substantial morbidity. Since alcohol gel hand sanitizers combine high immediate antimicrobial efficacy with ease of use, this study was carried out to determine the effect of the use of alcohol gel hand sanitizer by caregivers on infection types and rates in an extended care facility. METHOD: Infection rate and type data were collected in a 275-bed extended care facility for 34 months (July 1997 to May 2000), during which an alcohol gel hand sanitizer was used by the caregivers in 2 units of the facility. RESULTS: The primary infection types found were urinary tract with Foley catheter, respiratory tract, and wound infections. Comparison of the infection types and rates for the units where hand sanitizer was used with those for the control units where the hand sanitizer was not used showed a 30.4% decrease in infection rates for the 34-month period in the units where hand sanitizer was used. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that use of an alcohol gel hand sanitizer can decrease infection rates and provide an additional tool for an effective infection control program.

Mandibular rotation and lower face height indicators.

Lower face height indicators and mandibular rotation are assessed at 7 and 12 years of age in a sample of 46 children, comparing the corpus axis and mandibular plane as indicators of change in mandibular position. The parameters involving the mandibular plane consistently show higher correlations.

Molar occlusion and mandibular rotation: a longitudinal study.

The human dentition undergoes a process of complex development. Growth of the skeleton, morphology and function of the soft tissues (muscles in particular and airway), space considerations, and other factors influence the development of the dentition. The present study considered two of the factors involved: molar relationship in the sagittal plane and mandibular rotation. Forty-two persons from the Burlington sample were studied to determine whether changes in molar relation between the mean of ages 7 to 12 years were correlated with the rotational growth pattern of the mandible. The sample was divided into forward rotators (FR) and backward rotators (BR), based on the changes in the SN-corpus axis angle over time. The statistically significant difference of 4.04 degrees in change of the SN-CA angle over time, between the FRs and BRs, indicates that this method of characterizing the two different types of growers is useful. It is interesting to note, however, that the FRs and BRs, on an average, initially had the same SN-corpus axis angles. The molar relationship was determined on the basis of the cusp-fossa relationship in the sagittal plane. In the twenty-eight forward rotators and fourteen backward rotators the molar relationship did not change in a predictable fashion. Statistically significant correlations were not found between molar occlusion and growth direction patterns. Also, the SN-corpus-axis angle, at a single point in time, is not a good predictor of whether an individual is going to exhibit a forward or backward mandibular rotational growth pattern. The change in molar occlusion during the process of growth and development is a multifactorial phenomenon and cannot be predicted on the basis of the direction of mandibular growth rotation between the ages of 7 and 12 years.