Hand Hygiene

History A number of historic events and discoveries that occurred in the U.S. and Europe in the 1800s set the stage for our current knowledge in microorganisms and disease processes. 1825: Earliest paper on hand hygiene published. It suggested that utilizing a liquid chlorine solution would benefit HCWs. 1847: Ignaz Semmelweis (1818-1865) : work utilizing chlorinated lime solutions for washing hands to decrease the incidence of puerperal fever. 1843: Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894) : His independent work on spread of puerperal fever, The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever. 1865: Louis Pasteur (1822: 1895) : Germ Theory : explains that germs can cause infectious diseases. 1867: Joseph Lister (1827-1912) : Carbolic acid solution to cleans and dress wounds. 1878: Robert Koch (1843-1910) : Utilizes steam sterilization for surgical instruments and dressings. 1896: William Halstead requests that a glove be made for his assistant. Regulatory agencies and professional organizations develop and refine guidelines to meet patient and staff safety needs. 1961: U.S. Public Health Service : Recommended hand washing prior to having patient contact. 1975: CDC writes formal guidelines for handwashing. 1985: CDC revises written guidelines for handwashing. 1987: Universal Precautions/Standard Precautions 1988: APIC guidelines for handwashing and hand antisepsis. 1991: Bloodborne Pathogen (BBP) Standard 1995: APIC guidelines published with detailed discussion on alcohol-based rubs 1995 and 1996: HICPAC recommends antimicrobial soap or waterless antiseptic agent for cleaning hands for multiple drug resistant organisms (MDROs). 2002: CDC Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Setting : reviews studies since 1985 CDC Guideline and 1995 APIC Guidelines. 2003: National Patient Safety Standards

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