Microbial contamination of the white coats of dental staff in the clinical setting.
2009; National Institutes of Health; Linguagem: Inglês
10.5681/joddd.2009.033
AutoresHarsh Priya, Shashidhar Acharya, Meghashyam Bhat, Mamtha Ballal,
Tópico(s)Medical Device Sterilization and Disinfection
ResumoAlthough wearing a white coat is an accepted part of medical and dental practice, it is a potential source of cross-infection. The objective of this study was to determine the level and type of microbial contamination present on the white coats of dental interns, graduate students and faculty in a dental clinic.Questionnaire and cross-sectional survey of the bacterial contamination of white coats in two predetermined areas (chest and pocket) on the white coats were done in a rural dental care center. Paired sample t-test and chi-square test were used for Statistical analysis.60.8% of the participants reported washing their white coats once a week. Grading by the examiner revealed 15.7% dirty white coats. Also, 82.5% of the interns showed bacterial contamination of their white coats compared to 74.7% graduate students and 75% faculty members irrespective of the area examined. However, chest area was consistently a more bacterio-logically contaminated site as compared to the pocket area. Antibiotic sensitivity testing revealed resistant varieties of micro-organisms against Amoxicillin (60%), Erythromycin (42.5%) and Cotrimoxazole (35.2%).The white coats seem to be a potential source of cross-infection in the dental setting. The bacterial contamina-tion carried by white coats, as demonstrated in this study, supports the ban on white coats from non-clinical areas.
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