Hand gel may not curb patient infection rates, study suggests

From EM Today:

The AP (1/30, Ross) reports that many medical professionals “favor…an alcohol-based hand gel, thinking the quick-acting goo will kill bacteria on their hands and curb the spread of infection.” Yet, according to a study appearing in the January issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, “cleaner hands had no bearing on the rate of infections among patients” — a finding that conflicts with the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) hospital guidelines.