The present study demonstrated that the
gloved-hand method for evaluating effects of
antimicrobial agents on the microbial hand flora
is a reproducible method for sampling skin flora.
No significant differences in the number of bacteria
between the right and left hands of individual
subjects were observed (P > 0.20). The bacterial
counts between the groups (chlorhexidine
versus alcohol) during the base line study were
not statistically significant (P > 0.10).