The time burden of alcohol-based hand cleanser when using nonsterile gloves

Abstract

We quantified the time burden of alcohol-based handrub accompanying nonsterile-glove use among emergency physicians, through observation in controlled and clinical settings. We report gloving episodes per hour, gloving times with and without handrub, and handrub recommendations compliance. Handrub adds 46 seconds to each glove-use episode, and we provide national extrapolations.