OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the hand washing technique employed by health professionals and visitors of patients treated in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). METHODS: A prospective observational study was performed in the NICU of a teaching hospital in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil. The evaluation was made during seven months, with mornings and afternoons observations. Data were collected by two medical students. Observed people were not informed of the objective of the research. Two approaches were used to compare the hand washing technique: a) analysis by intention to treat, considering individuals who did not wash their hands as using an inadequate technique and b) by protocol analysis, considering only those who washed their hands. The chi-square or Fisher's exact tests were used to compare the groups and p<0.05 was adopted in all tests to reject the null hypothesis. RESULTS: 43 observations were performed, which lasted about 30 minutes each, being 20 in the morning and 23 in the afternoon. We observed six physicians (14%), 26 nurses (60%), three (7%) laboratory and X-ray technicians and eight (19%) relatives of patients. Among these, 24 (55.8%) washed their hands before entering the unit. The procedure was adopted more frequently during the morning (75%) than in the afternoon (39%). The correct technique was never adopted by any observed category. CONCLUSIONS: Hand washing techniques are rarely followed in hospitals and, therefore, educational programs to increase the compliance with health professionals are urgent.
Intensive Care Unit; newborn infant; cross infection; handwashing; health personnel
