Demonstrating the persistent antibacterial efficacy of a hand sanitizer containing benzalkonium chloride on human skin at 1, 2, and 4 hours after application

BACKGROUND: Use of hand sanitizers has become a cornerstone in clinical practice for the prevention of disease transmission between practitioners and patients. Traditionally, these preparations have relied on ethanol (60%-70%) for bactericidal action. METHODS: This study was conducted to measure the persistence of antibacterial activity of 2 preparations. One was a non-alcohol-based formulation using benzalkonium chloride (BK) (0.12%) and the other was an ethanol-based formulation (63%) (comparator product). The persistence of antibacterial activity was measured against Staphylococcus aureus using a technique modification prescribed in American Society for Testing and Materials protocol E2752-10 at up to 4 hours after application. RESULTS: reduction over the same time. The differences were highly significant. DISCUSSION: In the course of patient care or examination, there are instances where opportunities exist for the practitioner's hands to become contaminated (eg, key boards and tables). Persistent antibacterial activity would reduce the chances of transfer to the patient. CONCLUSIONS: These results show a major improvement in persistent antibacterial activity for the BK formulation compared to the comparator ethanol-based formulation.