title: Patient shoe covers: Transferring bacteria from the floor onto surgical bedsheets.
abstract: Forty disposable medical shoe covers were briefly exposed to the surgical floor and were found contaminated by a large number of bacteria. This study also demonstrated live bacteria, including pathogens attached to contaminated shoe covers, can be subsequently transferred to surgical bedsheets. We suggest an infection control policy should be considered to prevent patients returning to their bed with contaminated disposable shoe covers.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Galvin
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Almatroudi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vickery
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Anand
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Deva
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Faculty of Nursing, Federal University of Goias, Goias, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lillian Kelly Oliveira
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Faculty of Nursing, Federal University of Goias, Goias, Brazil.
authors.forename: Dayane de Melo
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: helen.hu@mq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Honghua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001513:Beds; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D005430:Floors and Floorcoverings; D006801:Humans; D012775:Shoes
keywords: Shoe covers; bacteria; bedsheet; infection control; surgical site infections; transfer