Dirty clothes and doctors!

As if healthcare professionals did not already have enough to worry about, it seems as though their clothes may be working against them. In a recent study where cultures were obtained from the uniforms of nurses and physicians, up to 60% of hospital staff’s uniforms are colonized with potentially pathogenic bacteria, including drug-resistant organisms. As noted by the authors, the maximal contamination occurs in areas of greatest hand contact (ie, pockets and cuffs), allowing recontamination of already washed hands. The authors acknowledged that the scope of the research was limited and it remained to be determined whether these bacteria could be transferred to patients and cause clinically relevant infection.

Study: Am J Infect Control 2011;39:555-9.)doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2010.12.016