Alou, LuisMartin-Villa, CarlosBecerro-de-Bengoa-Vallejo, RicardoLosa-Iglesias, MartaSevillano, David2024-11-122024-11-122024-05-20Herráiz Soria E, Alou L, Martin-Villa C, Becerro-de-Bengoa-Vallejo R, Losa-Iglesias M, Sevillano D. Alcohol-Based Chlorhexidine and Potassium Sorbate Rub Strengthens the Effectiveness of Traditional Hand Scrubbing and Improves Long-Lasting Effectiveness-Evaluation of Hand Preparation Protocols According to EN 12791. Antibiotics (Basel). 2024 May 20;13(5):470. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics13050470. PMID: 38786198; PMCID: PMC11117658.2079-6382 (online)https://hdl.handle.net/10115/41463Despite the advantages of surgical handrub in terms of the ease of application and effectiveness, chlorhexidine (CHG)-based hand scrubbing remains the preferred method for surgical hand preparation. However, it does not systematically meet the non-inferiority requirement of the European norm (EN) 12791 with respect to n-propanol (the reference product) and does not provide the sustained efficacy expected for these long-lasting agents. Commercially available alcohol-based products have also failed to demonstrate sustained efficacy according to EN 12791. Multi-step protocols enhance the efficacy of hand scrubbing, yet their extended disinfection duration might diminish their allure for healthcare professionals. In this study, we show that hand scrubbing with CHG 4% followed by a 1 min rubbing with the novel formulation of ethanol (Et) 70%/CHG 3% plus 0.3% potassium sorbate food additive (PS) meets the non-inferiority requirement and demonstrates sustained efficacy when tested according to EN 12791. The immediate and 3 h effect of this protocol was significantly higher than that of n-propanol and the homologous disinfection protocol without PS (CHG 4% hand scrub plus Et 70%/CHG 3% rub), demonstrating that the inclusion of PS confers a notable residual effect. We speculate that this non-volatile ingredient acts synergistically with CHG. This promising combination represents an alternative method for the development of new disinfection strategies. Keywords: EN 12791; chlorhexidine; ethanol; potassium sorbate; surgical hand preparation.engAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/article10.3390/antibiotics13050470info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess