title: [Contamination of workwear in medical doctors and nursing stuff].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The hands of medical stuff are the most important vectors for the transmission of pathogens in the hospital. Furthermore a "bare below the elbows dress code" has been introduced in Great Britain.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Aim of this study was to investigate whether workwear contamination of the medical stuff by pathogens is similar to the contamination of their hands and whether wearing workwear is associated with increased transmission risk.
  
  
  METHODS
  In total 54 swabs were collected from nursing stuff, medical doctors, patients and hospital work material.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients had a statistically significant more dense colonization with bacteria (median = 73 colony-forming units (CFU)), than the sleeves of the doctor's coat (median = 36 CFU, p = 0,005), followed by workwear of the nursing stuff at the end of a shift (median = 23 CFU, p < 0,001) and the hospital work material (median = 15 CFU, p < 0,001). Isolated pathogens were coagulase-negative staphylococci, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter cloacae and Acinetobacter species.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Contaminated work wear presents a relevant risk for the transmission of pathogens. A "bare below the elbow dress-code" or the daily change of the doctor's coat appear both to represent reasonable measures to reduce the transmission risk of pathogens in hospitals.
authors.affiliation: Neurochirurgische Klinik und Poliklinik, Ludwig Maximilians Universität München, Marchioninistraße 15, 81377, München, Deutschland. markus.lenski@med.uni-muenchen.de.|Orthpädie und Unfallchirurgie, HELIOS Klinikum Dachau, akademisches Lehrkrankenhaus der LMU München, Krankenhausstraße 15, 85221, Dachau, Deutschland. markus.lenski@med.uni-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lenski
authors.affiliation: Orthpädie und Unfallchirurgie, HELIOS Klinikum Dachau, akademisches Lehrkrankenhaus der LMU München, Krankenhausstraße 15, 85221, Dachau, Deutschland.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Scherer
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003020:Clothing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004866:Equipment Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005858:Germany; D006225:Hand / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D009729:Nursing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010820:Physicians / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Bacterial count; Clothes; Colony forming units assay, microbial; Hygiene; Surgical gowns
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