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A Randomized Trial of the Efficacy of Hand Disinfection for Prevention of Rhinovirus Infection

Background. Hand disinfection is frequently recommended for prevention of rhinovirus (RV) infection and RV-associated common colds. The effectiveness of this intervention has not been established in a natural setting. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of hand disinfection on RV i...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Turner, Ronald B., Fuls, Janice L., Rodgers, Nancy D., Goldfarb, Heidi B., Lockhart, Leslie K., Aust, Louise B.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Oxford University Press 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6276926/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22109950
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cid/cis201
Descripción
Sumario:Background. Hand disinfection is frequently recommended for prevention of rhinovirus (RV) infection and RV-associated common colds. The effectiveness of this intervention has not been established in a natural setting. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of hand disinfection on RV infection and RV-associated common cold illness in a natural setting. Methods. A controlled clinical trial was done in young adult volunteers during 9 weeks of the fall 2009 RV season. Volunteers were randomized to either an antiviral hand treatment containing 2% citric acid and 2% malic acid in 62% ethanol (n = 116) or to a no-treatment control group (n = 96). The hand treatment was applied every 3 hours while the subjects were awake. All volunteers kept a daily diary of symptoms and had a nasal lavage for polymerase chain reaction once each week and 2 additional lavages around the time of each common cold illness. The primary endpoint was the number of RV-associated illnesses. The incidence of RV infection and of common cold illnesses were evaluated as secondary endpoints. Results. The hand treatment did not significantly reduce RV infection or RV-related common cold illnesses. The total number of common cold illnesses was significantly reduced in the intent-to-treat analysis, but this effect was not seen in the per protocol analysis. Conclusions. In this study, hand disinfection did not reduce RV infection or RV-related common cold illnesses. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT00993759.