Quantity of ethanol absorption after excessive hand disinfection using three commercially available hand rubs is minimal and below toxic levels for humans

Table 1 Blood concentration of ethanol and acetaldehyde (mg/L) before and after 20 hygienic hand disinfections

Hand rub	Substance	Before first application	Time after last application
			2.5 min	5 min	10 min	20 min	30 min	60 min	90 min
A	Ethanol	0.11 (0.09–0.12)	1.40 (01.22–1.58)	3.30 (3.22–3.38)	5.80 (5.52–6.08)	8.55 (8.06–9.04)	20.95 (20.46–21.34)	16.60 (16.21–16.99)	10.10 (9.83–10.37)
	Acetaldehyde	0.10 (0.01–0.10)	0.20 (0.19–0.21)	0.25 (0.24–0.26)	0.20 (0.18–0.22)	0.30 (0.29–0.31)	0.50 (0.47–0.54)	0.40 (0.39–0.41)	0.20 (0.19–0.21)
B	Ethanol	0.07 (0.06–0.08)	1.30 (1.01–1.59)	2.60 (2.34–2.86)	4.10 (3.79–4.40)	5.65 (5.42–5.88)	11.45 (11.17–11.73)	5.10 (4.83–5.37)	4.30 (4.21–4.32)
	Acetaldehyde	0.10 (0.10–0.10)	0.50 (0.47–0.51)	0.35 (0.34–0.36)	0.30 (0.28–0.32)	0.40 (0.38–0.42)	0.40 (0.39–0.41)	0.40 (0.39–0.41)	0.30 (0.29–0.31)
C	Ethanol	0.07 (0.05–0.08)	1.00 (0.76–1.24)	0.60 (0.37–0.82)	1.10 (0.89–1.31)	4.05 (3.85–4.25)	6.90 (6.76–7.04)	3.00 (2.87–3.13)	1.50 (1.42–1.58)
	Acetaldehyde	0.10 (0.10–0.10)	0.40 (0.39–0.41)	0.30 (0.29–0.31)	0.50 (0.49–0.51)	0.40 (0.38–0.42)	0.60 (0.59–0.61)	0.45 (0.44–0.46)	0.30 (0.28–0.32)

Hand rub A (95% ethanol), hand rub B (85% ethanol), hand rub C (55% ethanol); Median with 95% CI (brackets) from 12 volunteers; total exposure of 60 mL hand rub in an open room of 37 m³ with a total contact time of 10 minutes.

ISSN: 1471-2334