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No differences in MRSA contamination with long vs. short-sleeved uniforms
Burden M.J Hosp Med. 2011;doi:10.1002/jhm.864.
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After an 8-hour work-day, researchers observed no differences in the contamination of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus on the skin at physicians’ wrists when wearing either long-sleeved white coats or short-sleeved uniforms, according to Marisha Burden, MD, and colleagues.
“We were surprised to find no statistical difference in contamination between the short- and long-sleeved work-wear,” Burden, of the department of internal medicine at Denver Health, said in a press release. “We also found bacterial contamination of newly laundered uniforms occurs within hours of putting them on.”
Guidelines banning physicians’ white coats and the wearing of long-sleeved garments to decrease the transmission of bacteria within hospitals were recently implemented in the UK due to the belief that cuffs of long-sleeved shirts carry more bacteria, according to background information in the study.
For this reason, the researchers set out to assess the accuracy of this assumption and tested the uniforms of 100 physicians at Denver Health. Physicians were randomly assigned to wear a freshly washed, short-sleeved uniform or a long-sleeved white coat. Cultures were obtained from the physicians’ wrists, cuffs and pockets.
Although no significant differences were found in bacteria colony counts between physicians’ white coats and long-sleeved garments, the researchers found that by 3 hours of wear, almost 50% of the bacteria assessed at 8 hours were already present on the newly laundered uniforms.
“By the end of an 8-hour work day, we found no data supporting the contention that long-sleeved white coats were more heavily contaminated than short-sleeved uniforms,” Burden said. “Our data do not support discarding white coats for uniforms that are changed on a daily basis, or for requiring health care workers to avoid long-sleeved garments.”
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