title: Associations between bacterial contamination of health care workers' hands and contamination of white coats and scrubs.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA. smunozprice@med.miami.edu
authors.forename: L Silvia
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Munoz-Price
authors.forename: Kristopher L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Arheart
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cleary
authors.forename: Dennise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Depascale
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jimenez
authors.forename: Yovanit
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fajardo-Aquino
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coro
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Birnbach
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Lubarsky
mesh_terms: D040981:Acinetobacter baumannii / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006225:Hand / Q000382:microbiology*; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D015995:Prevalence; D011481:Protective Clothing / Q000382:microbiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013223:Statistics as Topic