Establishment of a National Surveillance System for Alcohol-Based Hand Rub Consumption and Change in Consumption over 4 Years

Germany established a national surveillance system for alcohol-based hand rub consumption (AHC) in 2008. In 2010, the median AHC was 83 mL/patient-day in 543 intensive care units (ICUs) and 18 mL/patient-day in 4,638 non-ICUs. There was a median increase in AHC of 35.9% (P < .01) in 159 hospitals that participated in the surveillance system for 4 years. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2012; 33(6):618-620