Bacterial Contamination of Workwear

NCT ID: NCT01192841

Last Updated: 2010-09-01

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 110 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2008-04-30
• Study Completion Date: 2009-11-30

Brief Summary

Governmental agencies in the United Kingdom and Scotland have recently instituted guidelines banning physicians' white coats and wearing of long-sleeved garments to decrease hospital transmission of bacteria. The purpose of this study is to compare the bacterial contamination of physicians' white coats with that of newly laundered, standardized short-sleeved uniforms after an eight-hour workday and to determine the rate at which bacterial contamination of the uniform ensues. Our hypothesis was that the physician white coat would have more bacterial contamination at the end of the work day.

Detailed Description

Governmental agencies in the United Kingdom and Scotland have recently instituted guidelines banning physicians' white coats and wearing of long-sleeved garments to decrease nosocomial transmission of bacteria. Our goal was to compare the degree of bacterial and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus contamination of physicians' white coats with that of newly laundered, standardized short-sleeved uniforms after an eight-hour workday and to determine the rate at which bacterial contamination of the uniform ensues. 100 interns, residents, and hospitalists on an internal medicine service were randomized to wear either physician white coat or newly laundered, short-sleeved uniform. Bacterial colony counts and the frequency with which methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was found was compared in the two groups and over time. Our initial hypothesis was that physician white coats would have more bacterial contamination at the end of the work day.

Conditions

Bacterial Contamination of Physician Attire

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

White coat group

Participants continued their regular practice of wearing their physician white coat.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Uniform group

Participants were given a clean uniform (scrubs) at the beginning of the day.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Physician uniform

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants were given a clean uniform (scrubs) on the day of the study. They wore this for approximately 8 hours.

Interventions

Physician uniform

Participants were given a clean uniform (scrubs) on the day of the study. They wore this for approximately 8 hours.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Internal medicine interns, residents, and hospitalists working on acute medicine ward service.

Exclusion Criteria

• Not willing/unable to participate in study
• Not working a full 8 hour day in the hospital

• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Denver Health and Hospital Authority

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Denver Health and Hospital Authority

Principal Investigators

Marisha Burden, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Denver Health and Housing Authority

Locations

Denver Health

Denver, Colorado, United States

Countries

United States

References

Burden M, Cervantes L, Weed D, Keniston A, Price CS, Albert RK. Newly cleaned physician uniforms and infrequently washed white coats have similar rates of bacterial contamination after an 8-hour workday: a randomized controlled trial. J Hosp Med. 2011 Apr;6(4):177-82. doi: 10.1002/jhm.864. Epub 2011 Feb 10.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 21312328 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

07-1137

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id