Study: Improper Personal Protective Equipment Practices Spread Contamination

A new study shows that when healthcare workers do not properly remove their personal protective equipment (PPE), the likelihood of bacterial contamination increases significantly.

The study was performed at a tertiary-care teaching hospital. Researchers monitored and evaluated samples taken from 125 healthcare workers — mostly nurses or physicians — in four adult intensive care units caring for patients colonized or infected with a multi-drug resistant organism (MDRO), according to a Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) news release.

The study's results were published in SHEA's Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology journal. Findings included the following:

Nearly 40% percent of workers made errors in removing their PPE, including gowns and gloves, when evaluated by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. This was despite the fact that, as the release notes, a significant majority of the workers had undergone training on appropriate methods for donning and doffing PPE within the past five years.

  • Following patient contact, 36% of workers were contaminated with an MDRO.

  • After removing PPE, more than 10% were contaminated on their hands, clothing or equipment.

  • Workers who made multiple PPE-removal errors were more likely to be contaminated after a patient encounter.

"Based on these findings, we should reevaluate strategies for removing PPE, as well as how often healthcare workers are trained on these methods," said Dr. Koh Okamoto, a lead author of the study, in the release. "An intervention as simple as education about appropriate doffing of PPE may reduce healthcare worker contamination with MDROs."

Infection Control Compliance a Frequent Dental Board of California Citation

Two of the top five most commonly cited violations by the Dental Board of California in 2018 concern infection control and prevention, according to a California Dental Association (CDA) report.

The report, which summarizes the findings of the Dental Board of California's 2018 Sunset Review Report to the California Legislature, identifies "failure to follow infection control guidelines" and "failure to comply with bloodborne requirements" as common areas for citation. Rounding out the top five list:

  • Failure to produce patient records

  • Grounds for action: Conduct of proceedings

  • Unprofessional conduct

CDA notes that the number of citations issued by the Dental Board of California is on rise: 47 citations were issued in fiscal year (FY) 2015-16; 56 citations in FY 2016-17; and 64 citations in FY 2017-18.

The findings and increase in citations come as no surprise to Infection Control Consulting Services (ICCS). They are consistent with observations made by ICCS consultants who provide dental infection control services to dental offices and oral surgery centers nationwide.