Is tap water safe for surgical hand washing?
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O RIGINAL A R T I CL E
Is Tap Water safe for Surgical Hand Washing? S. Voultsou, E. Stamatakis, S. Hadzilia, K. Vatzeli, D. Valsamidis
Abstract Introduction: The daily observation of surgical preoperative preparation prompted us to review and investigate the
quality of water used during preoperative hand antisepsis. Material and Methods: In this prospective study, the process of water sampling took place on two different days
over a period of one week. The procedure required the collection of two samples of water from each of the three taps on the same day. The first sample was collected at 8am and the second at 3pm. In both cases, the water was collected either immediately after opening the tap (direct intake), or after using a torch to sterilize the tap and letting the water flow for five minutes (indirect intake). Thereafter, the taps’ filters and pipes were immersed into sodium hypochlorite solution 5% (solution 1:10) for thirty minutes and new samples were taken a week later. Bottles with 500ml capacity were used for the samples and were sealed immediately, avoiding any contact of the inner surface with the hands. Ten percent of the bottle remained empty for good mixing prior to analysis. To enable their transportation, the samples were immediately cooled with ice bags in special insulated boxes. The samples from indirect water intake remained in the refrigerator at 5o C and the transfer took place the next morning at 8am. Results: Overall, 24 samples of water from three taps over two different days were included in the study. During
direct intake from taps 1, 2 and 3, non-pathological levels of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa was detected (taps 1 and 2 >100 and tap 3 100 and tap 2 100 and tap 2< 10); again, these levels do not have pathological consequences. In both samplings, the results conform to the Greek legislation KYA 2600/2001 and the KYA 38295/07 (quality of water intended for human consumption, in compliance with Directive 98/83/EC of the European Union on November 3, 1998) in terms of the parameters checked in the specific samples. The results of the new samples taken showed the presence of 100 και βρύση 3100 και βρύση 2
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