Antiseptic effectiveness of selected hydroalcoholic solutions used in medical laboratories in Benin

Abstract

Hand hygiene is identified as one of the best prevention methods especially at laboratory level. Thus, several hydroalcoholic solutions have been designed and marketed. These solutions are widely sold in the Republic of Benin and do not have the same chemical composition. The present study aimed to assess the bacteriological effectiveness of these solutions because of their odd multitude. 11 hydroalcoholic solutions were collected from phar-macies and labelled. The sensitivity of reference bacterial strains such as Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 was tested to these solutions. Thereafter, their ability to reduce bacterial colo-nies after impregnation of technicians’ hands was evaluated. At the end of the study, solutions A1, A8 and A10 were found active against S. aureus and E. coli. The inhibition diameters obtained were 13.5 and 29 mm respectively for A1, 20.5 and 32.5mm for A8 and 31 and 44.5 mm for solution A10. The rest were revealed inactive on the bacteria strains. After application on technicians’ hands, solutions A1, A8 and A10 showed reduction proportions of 60%, 4.30% and 41.67%, respectively. Apart from the ethanol contained in these three solutions, the presence of chlorhexidine enhances the effective-ness of the solution A10. These findings demonstrate that not all hand wash-ing hydroalcoholic solutions commercially available are effective. It is therefore important that concerned authorities evaluate the antibacterial perfor-mance of these products before being placed on the market in other to curb infections and protect populations’ health safety.