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Bacteria from rings grew Staphylococcus epidermis
Researchers recommend surgeons remove their wedding rings before surgery to avoid causing implant infections.
BIRMINGHAM, England — Researchers in Manchester, England, recently identified an interesting source of bacterial colonization: surgeons’ wedding rings.
Their work was among the first to produce solid evidence that when it comes to infection of orthopedic implant, wedding rings might be a culprit that stems from the surgeons themselves, according to the study’s abstract.
For the study, researchers asked 20 surgeons who wore wedding rings to scrub, as usual, prior to surgery. They took a bacterial swab from the exterior and the under side of each ring and, as a control, they swabbed the ring finger on the surgeons’ other hand.
In eight swabs (20%), investigators grew Staphylococcus epidermis from the wedding rings, which was statistically significant (P<.01). No control swabs were associated with any bacterial growth.
The study authors wrote in their abstract, “Wedding rings are a potential source of infection and should be removed prior to implant surgery.� They presented these findings at the British Orthopaedic Association Annual Congress, here.
Other studies showed that wearing wedding bands increased the number of perforations in surgical gloves, they said.
For more information:
- Reading JG, Snow M, Shivartri D, Unsworth R. Which should you fear the most? Implant infection or the wife? #D8. Presented at the British Orthopaedic Association Annual Congress. Sept. 20-23, 2005. Birmingham, England.