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Hand Rub–Associated Fire Incidents During 25,038 Hospital-Years in Germany

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Axel Kramer  and
Günter Kampf
Axel Kramer
Affiliation:
Institut für Hygiene und Umweltmedizin, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt Universität Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
Günter Kampf*
Affiliation:
Bode Chemie, Hamburg, Germany
*
Bode Chemie GmbH & Co. KG, Scientific Affairs, Melanchthonstrasse 27, 22525 Hamburg, Germany (guenter.kampf@bode-chemie.de)
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Abstract

Fire incidents in German hospitals related to the use of alcohol-based hand rubs were analyzed. Seven nonsevere fire incidents were identified, occurring during 25,038 hospital-years, which were caused by individual human actions and not by technical failure. The results underline the safety of using alcohol-based hand rubs in hospitals.

Type
Concise Communication
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 28 , Issue 6 , June 2007 , pp. 745 - 746
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2007

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