Doctors, Nurses Unwittingly Spread Deadly Germs While Removing Gloves And Gowns

Most healthcare professionals are unaware of standard procedures to remove gloves and gowns following medical procedures, resulting in self-contamination and unwarranted spread of germs, a new study found.

Reuters reports a simulation study involving 435 healthcare professionals who were asked to smear lotion on their hands, chest and abdomen to simulate dirt, after donning gloves and gowns. They were then given new gloves and asked to remove the soiled gowns.

Researchers found that most participants did not know the procedure to remove their apparel and subsequently contaminated themselves. The contamination from the lotion was seen under a black light that could detect traces of the lotion.

"Contamination of the skin and clothing of health care personnel occurs frequently during removal of contaminated gloves or gowns. Educational interventions that include practice with immediate visual feedback on skin and clothing contamination can significantly reduce the risk of contamination during removal of PPE," researchers wrote in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

The researchers found that contamination happened 70 percent of time when the procedure was not followed and 30 percent of the time when the procedure was followed. After attending infection control sessions, the participants contaminated themselves only 19 percent of the time.