Congratulations to VCU medical student Kathry Osei-Bonsu and VCU associate hospital epidemiologist Dr. Michelle Doll on this recently published paper in the American Journal of Infection Control.Utilizing Glo Germ and fluorescing Staphylococcus epidermidis during observed personal protective equipment doffing, the authors reported that up to 16% of doffs resulted in apparent transfer (growth) of S. epidermidis- an important surrogate marker of live bacteria.
The one step doff of gowns and gloves, as highlighted in the article, was the least likely to result in self contamination.
Studies such as these are not exclusively done for academic purposes.
Next step: Train and measure performance to scale across a healthcare system.
