Clean hands are caring hands: Improving anesthesia provider hand hygiene and double-glove compliance during induction of general anesthesia.

BACKGROUND

Hand hygiene and double-gloving practices during induction of general anesthesia can decrease transmission of bacteria to patients and subsequent health care-associated infections; however, compliance to these practices is low.

METHODS

A pre- and postimplementation quality improvement design was used with Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles. Several implementation strategies were used to improve hand hygiene and double-glove compliance among anesthesia providers, including printed educational materials, video, in-person, and virtual meetings, visual reminders, audit, and feedback, and improved access to hand sanitizer dispensers in the anesthesia workstation.

RESULTS

Average hand hygiene compliance increased from 0% to 11.8% and double-gloving compliance increased from 18.5% to 34.5%. A decrease in surgical site infections was shown in the postimplementation period.

DISCUSSION

Although hand hygiene and double-gloving practices increased after the initial implementation, the improvements were not sustained long-term. Practices to support sustainability, such as routine booster sessions, may be considered.

CONCLUSIONS

Incorporating these quality improvement measures into practice may improve anesthesia provider hand hygiene compliance during induction of general anesthesia and impact subsequent infection rates.