Non-slip socks: a potential reservoir for transmitting multidrug-resistant organisms in hospitals?

Non-slip socks are increasingly used to prevent falls in hospitals. Patients use them to walk to various parts of the hospital and also wear them in bed. Fifty-four pairs of socks and 35 environmental floor samples were obtained from seven wards in a tertiary referral hospital. Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) were detected from 46 (85%) socks and meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from five (9%). Environmental sampling cultured VRE from 24 (69%) floor samples and MRSA from six (17%) floor samples. Clostridium difficile was not detected from any sample. Non-slip socks may become contaminated with multidrug-resistant pathogens and may form a potential route for cross-transmission.