Clostridium difficile contamination of blood pressure cuffs: a call for a closer look at gloving practices in the era of universal precautions.
We report an outbreak of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea at our medical center following adoption of Universal Precautions. Environmental cultures revealed unexpected contamination of blood pressure cuffs at a rate similar to that for bedside commodes (10% and 11.5%, respectively). An observational survey revealed that healthcare workers in the patient care areas not infrequently failed to remove their potentially stool-contaminated gloves prior to touching clean surfaces, which might have contributed to contamination of blood pressure cuffs.
Manian
F A
FA
St John's Mercy Medical Center, St Louis, MO 63141, USA.
Meyer
L
L
Jenne
J
J
D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000295:instrumentation; D016360:Clostridioides difficile; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D017575:Gloves, Protective; D006801:Humans; D008923:Missouri / Q000453:epidemiology; D016635:Universal Precautions