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. 2022 Jul 1;3(8):628–640. doi: 10.1302/2633-1462.38.BJO-2022-0067.R1

Table VII.

Quantified water wastage and time taken for hand decontamination.

Article (year) Type of scrub used Method of scrub (n) Quantified wastage Findings
Potgeiter et al (2020) Water and soap: 4% chlorhexidine gluconate soap + water
Alcohol scrub: 0.5% chlorhexidine + 70% alcohol		 Standard (2)
Alcohol (18)
Scrub nurse-assisted (12)
Self-wash (12)		 Average litres per scrub:
Standard: 5.65
AS: 0.82
SN: 2.29
SW: 1.93		 All interventions significantly less water than baseline (p < 0.001)
AS significantly less water than SN (1.44 l; 63% less; p = 0.033)
AS less water than SW (1.11 l; 58% less; p > 0.05)
No significant difference between SN and SW
Average seconds per scrub:
Standard: 163.5
AS: 32.8
SN: 120.8
SW: 160.3		 AS significantly less scrub time than all other categories (p < 0.001 for baseline and SW; p = 0.002 for SN): 130.7 sec (80%) less than baseline (p < 0.001); 127.5 sec (80%) less than SW (p < 0.001); 88 sec (73%) less than SN (p = 0.002)
SN less than SW but not statistically significant

AS, alcohol scrub; SN, scrub nurse-assisted; SW, self-wash.