Gowning and gloving for all patient interactions may significantly reduce the contamination of healthcare workers' clothes while they practice care, according to a study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.
Researchers conducted cross-sectional surveys at five intensive care unit study sites and sampled healthcare workers' clothing at the beginning and near the end of each shift. Responses were collected from nearly 350 healthcare workers.
Highlighted below are the results and findings from the study.
- Overall, 15 percent of the healthcare workers acquired commonly pathogenic bacteria on their clothing.
- Roughly 7 percent of the workers acquired bacteria during the universal gowning and gloving process.
- Pathogens identified on workers' clothing included Staphylococcus aureus (including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), Enterococcus (including vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, or VRE), Pseudomonas spp., Acinetobacter spp., and Klebsiella bacteria.
- Nearly 25 percent of healthcare workers practicing usual care, meaning they gowned and gloved only for patients with known resistant bacteria, contaminated their clothing during their shift.
- Clothing contamination was reduced by 70 percent by gowning and gloving for all patient interactions.
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