Rationale for Hand Hygiene Recommendations after Caring for a Patient with Clostridium difficile Infection

SHEA is planning to release an update to their Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections this year. Questions frequently arise in regards to the recommended method of hand hygiene after caring for patients with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) The recommendation to use soap and water preferentially in outbreak settings after caring for a Patient with CDI is based on expert opinion as there are no data that demonstrate preferential use of soap and water for hand hygiene after caring for a patient with CDI in an outbreak setting is effective at preventing CDI