title: Non-slip socks: a potential reservoir for transmitting multidrug-resistant organisms in hospitals?
abstract: Non-slip socks are increasingly used to prevent falls in hospitals. Patients use them to walk to various parts of the hospital and also wear them in bed. Fifty-four pairs of socks and 35 environmental floor samples were obtained from seven wards in a tertiary referral hospital. Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) were detected from 46 (85%) socks and meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from five (9%). Environmental sampling cultured VRE from 24 (69%) floor samples and MRSA from six (17%) floor samples. Clostridium difficile was not detected from any sample. Non-slip socks may become contaminated with multidrug-resistant pathogens and may form a potential route for cross-transmission.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mahida
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK. Electronic address: tim.boswell@nuh.nhs.uk.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Boswell
mesh_terms: D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003020:Clothing; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers; D065507:Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci / Q000302:isolation & purification*
keywords: Fall; Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Multidrug-resistant organisms; Non-slip sock; Vancomycin-resistant enterococci