Associations between bacterial contamination of health care workers' hands and contamination of white coats and scrubs

• Published in: American journal of infection control Vol. 40; no. 9; pp. e245 - e248
• Main Authors: Munoz-Price, L. Silvia, MD, Arheart, Kristopher L., EdD, Mills, John P., MD, Cleary, Timothy, PhD, DePascale, Dennise, MT, Jimenez, Adriana, MT, Fajardo-Aquino, Yovanit, MD, Coro, Gabriel, MD, Birnbach, David J., MD, MPH, Lubarsky, David A., MD, MBA
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Mosby, Inc 01-11-2012; Mosby-Year Book, Inc
• Subjects: Acinetobacter; Acinetobacter baumannii; Acinetobacter baumannii - isolation & purification; Contamination; Disease control; Disease transmission; Enterococcus - isolation & purification; Hand - microbiology; Hand contamination; Hands; Health Personnel; Humans; Infection Control; Infectious Disease; Intensive Care Units; Medical personnel; Nosocomial infections; Pathogens; Prevalence; Protective Clothing - microbiology; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - isolation & purification; Statistics as Topic; United States > US; Hand contamination; Acinetobacter
• ISSN: 0196-6553; 1527-3296
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2012.03.032

Background Uniforms are potential reservoirs for hospital organisms, potentially reinfecting the hands of health care workers (HCWs). The study aimed to determine the association between the bacterial contamination of HCWs' hands and uniforms (white coats and scrubs). Methods HCWs working in 5 intensive care units had cultures obtained from their hands and uniforms (white coats or scrubs). Pathogens were defined as any gram-negative bacilli, Staphylococcus aureus , and enterococci. Results Bacterial growth was detected on 103 hands (86%); 13 (11%) grew S aureus , 7 (6%) grew Acinetobacter spp, 2 (2%) grew enterococci, and 83 (70%) grew only skin flora. The presence of pathogens on the hands was associated with a greater likelihood of the presence of pathogens on white coats (κ = 0.81; P < .001), but not on scrubs (κ = 0.31; P  = .036). Similarly, the presence of Acinetobacter on HCWs' hands was associated with a greater likelihood of Acinetobacter contamination of white coats (κ = 0.70; P  < .001), but not of scrubs (κ = 0.36; P  = .024). Conclusions Contamination of provider's hands with pathogens or Acinetobacter baumannii was associated with contamination of white coats. This association was not observed between hands and scrubs, however.