Hand Hygiene: A Handbook for Medical Professionals

Hand Hygiene: A Handbook for Medical Professionals is the latest book in the popular growing Wiley series Hospital Medicine: Current Concepts.

In its most basic meaning and application, “hand hygiene” is a term used to describe cleaning hands by using soap and warm water or by using an alcohol-based hand rub solution. Good hand hygiene is considered to be one of the most effective measures to help prevent the spread of bacteria such as MRSA or Clostridium difficile, alongside other measures that help control these infections. Hand hygiene is considered to be one of the most important ways to stop the spread of germs, and excellent hand hygiene practice is absolutely essential in the hospital environment, where sick patients are more vulnerable to infections than average healthy persons. If the hands of those caring for a patient, as well as the hands of the patient and their visitors, are kept clean, then the risk of the patient getting an infection will be greatly reduced.

Professor Didier Pittet is recognized as the world’s pre-eminent scholar and clinician on  hand hygiene. In Hand Hygiene, he and his colleagues offer the first comprehensive, single-source overview of best practice in hand hygiene for infection control and disease prevention. This book will be a very welcome addition to the armamentarium of infection control preventionists, infection control nurses, infectious disease specialists, patient safety experts, hospital epidemiologists, healthcare staff, hospital administrators, and public health departments throughout the world.