The potential for nosocomial infection transmission by white coats used by physicians in Nigeria: implications for improved patient-safety initiatives.

Microbiological analysis of swabs taken from the cuffs and pocket mouths of physicians' white coats in an acute care hospital showed that 91.3% of the coats had bacterial contamination. Specifically diphtheroids, Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative bacilli were isolated. In contrast, comparatively lower rates of bacterial contamination were observed on the white coats (1) of visiting physicians, (2) of the medical unit compared with the rest of the hospital, (3) that were less 1 year old, and (4) that were laundered daily. Further, the white coats of physicians who wore them only when seeing patients had significantly lower bacterial contamination than white coats of physicians who wore theirs during clinical and nonclinical duties (chi(2) = 4.99, df = 1, p < .05). In particular, white-coat cuffs had a higher bacterial load than the mouths of the pockets. The bacterial isolates were resistant to nearly all of the antibiotics tested; the most effective, however, was ciproflox. Results suggest that physicians' white coats may increase nosocomial infection transmission. Proper handling of white coats by physicians and other healthcare workers could minimize cross-contamination and improve patient safety by potentially reducing nosocomial infections.