Healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) are directly related to the hand hygiene practices. Differences in implementation of practices may exist among hospitals despite standard guidelines.

To compare the hand hygiene practices in the operation theaters of tertiary care hospitals in Delhi. Design and setting: A 6-months descriptive and cross-sectional study conducted in operation theaters of tertiary level, referral public and private sector hospitals in Delhi.

A 6-months descriptive and cross-sectional study conducted in operation theaters of tertiary level, referral public and private sector hospitals in Delhi.

Six leading multispecialty hospitals, three each from the private and public sectors were selected through purposive sampling. The sample comprised of cases from one major operation theater (OT) from each hospital conducting general surgery cases (10% of all cases).

A performa with 24 parameters was designed using the Center for Disease Control Guidelines for hand hygiene. Hospitals were analysed in categories and also independently.

One thousand nine hundred and twenty observations were analyzed from six hospitals. The level of compliance was higher among the private sector and the autonomous hospital. Statistically significant differences were observed with groups of hand hygiene parameters namely hand washing, selection of hand hygiene agent, skin care, and educational programs and surgical scrub, but not regarding hand hygiene policy or technique. Comparison of five hand hygiene practices strongly recommended by CDC practices revealed significant differences. Adherence to hand washing practices was 76%, surgical scrub practice was 85% and overall compliance of hand hygiene practice was 80.5%.

The study revealed gaps in implementation of hand hygiene practices despite standard guidelines. In future, post interventional studies may reflect the extent of improvement of these practices through reduction in HCAIs.

Kumar P, Gupta SK, Kapil A, Vij A, Singh IB. A Comparative Study of Hand Hygiene Practices in Operation Theaters in Tertiary Level Hospitals in Delhi, India. Int J Res Foundation Hosp Healthc Adm 2014;2(2):87-93.