March 30, 2009 — A multicampus research effort by Cleveland Chiropractic College members was recently published in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine. The submission, titled “A proposed protocol for hand and table sanitizing in chiropractic clinics and education institutions,” appeared in the March 2009 issue of the journal. The article proposed an evidence-based guideline for hand and treatment table surface sanitizing for chiropractors that could be easily adopted by doctors in the field and teaching institutions.
Co-author from CCCLA was Gary Globe, DC, PhD, provost; co-authors from CCCKC were Dr. Will Evans, dean of graduate studies; Dr. Michael Ramcharan, instructor; and Dr. Rondal Ivie, adjunct research faculty. Three additional researchers worked in concert with the Cleveland team including: Rod Floyd, DC, DrPH, coordinator of clinical academics, Palmer College of Chiropractic-Florida and Harrison Ndetan, MS, MPH, assistant professor, Parker Research Institute.
The study was pursued because there is no standardized protocol in the United States regarding table sanitizing and hand hygiene in chiropractic clinics or educational institutions. This, in spite of the fact that chiropractic literature indicates the presence of pathogenic microbes on treatment tables is commonplace. As chiropractic adjustments are conducted through hand-to-patient contact while the patient is also touching the adjusting table, the threat for transmission of those microbes can be greatly reduced through more diligent sanitizing practices.
Source: Cleveland Chiropractic College, www.cleveland.edu
