Bacterial contamination of nurses' white coats after first and second shift

Microbial load of nurses' white coats in a hospital was determined on polyester cotton blend and polyester fabric after the first and second work shift. Contamination on the blend fabric was significantly higher (P < .05) than on polyester. After the second shift, bacterial colonies on polyester and blend fabrics increased by similar to 98% and similar to 70%, respectively. Among the isolates detected on polyester after the second shift, Escherichia coli was the most abundant (47.8%), followed by staphylococci (19.1%). (C) 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.