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Hospital staff usually transmit germs through their own smocks and gloves
A hospital should actually save lives. But sometimes it happens that in hospitals people suffer life-threatening infections. For a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), researchers demanded that hospital staff remove their coat and gloves. Previously, they had soiled the garments with fake bacteria. It was found that the bacteria were left on the skin and clothing of the people in 46 percent of all cases. The contamination became more common if the disrobing technique was not correct. But even if there were no mistakes when removing the soiled clothing, contamination occurred in about one third of the simulations. Based on these facts, it can be said that healthcare professionals in many cases can not remove their protective clothing without contaminating themselves. Simple measures have the potential to greatly reduce the risk of contamination, the researchers concluded.
Test with fluorescent lotions to explain the spread of pathogens
The current study shows that simulations with fluorescent lotions or powders can help explain the spread of pathogens. The great advantage of the fluorescence lotion procedure for the training of the staff is that there is immediate visual feedback. Both locations, but also the ways of contamination are shown. The researchers came to the conclusion that simulations using fluorescent lotions may be useful. This could develop new techniques for the removal of gloves and gowns. Especially in the care of patients with dangerous pathogens such as the Ebola virus, it is very important to prevent contamination. Only in this way can it be guaranteed that the viral disease does not spread further. Trials or tests with lotions or powders are inexpensive, safe and easy to perform.
The medical protective clothing often does not fulfill its purpose. (Image: Whyona / fotolia.com Test in four hospitals with 435 simulations
435 simulations involved 246 nurses. The further tests were performed by 72 physicians and 117 other volunteers working as physiotherapists, nutritionists and radiology technicians. The researchers led by Dr. med. Tomas Myreen of the Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center recruited these volunteers from four hospitals in the Cleveland area. For the test, half a millimeter of fluorescent lotion was applied to gloves. This shone under black light. The subjects were then asked to spread the lotion on their gloved hands for 15 seconds. Then they wiped their gowns with their gloves. Afterwards the subjects got new, clean gloves.
Black light reveals: impurities widespread
Now the subjects were told to take off their clothes and gloves the way they normally do. When the hospital staff were done, the researchers used blacklight to check for traces of the lotion. In 38 percent of the cases, subjects were found to have lotion on their clothing and skin when removing their gowns. When they took off their gloves, the contamination even occurred in 53 percent of the test subjects.
Errors when taking off protective clothing contaminated 70 percent of all subjects
In all four hospitals, the likelihood of contamination was about the same. It also did not make any difference to what profession the subjects in the hospital were doing. Errors when removing or putting on their protective clothing were equally likely to occur in all. Most mistakes were made when putting on the gloves or taking off the smocks and the gloves. Often gowns are pulled over the head instead of opening and pulling away from the body. If the volunteers made a mistake, they were 70 percent contaminated. But even if the people followed all security guidelines perfectly, they got contaminated in 30 percent of the time.
Training program to train employees
Dr. Tomas Myreen and his colleagues responded to the study results. A training program has been introduced that allows employees to practice putting on and taking off gowns and gloves properly. For this purpose, employees watch a ten-minute training video. Then they train the learned techniques for twenty minutes. In order to achieve sustainable improvements, it is recommended that the first training sessions be followed by annual refresher training. The study shows that the rate of exercise contamination has been reduced from 60 percent to 19 percent. Although the pollution was reduced by the measures, however, it was not possible to reduce the contamination to zero.
Employees must be better trained and protective clothing should be redesigned
The results of the study show that multidrug-resistant bacteria are a persistent threat in hospitals. An important part of the solution is to better educate healthcare workers on how to safely put on their gowns and gloves, the study author said. In addition, workers in hospitals are advised to disinfect their clothing and gloves before taking them off. The best solution could be to redesign the personal protective equipment. It is important in development to make sure that it is easier to take off gowns and gloves without contaminating yourself. (As)