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Bacterial Contamination of Physician AttireNCT01192841

Bacterial Contamination of Workwear

A study testing Physician uniform in people with Bacterial Contamination of Physician Attire, run by Denver Health and Hospital Authority at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Governmental agencies in the United Kingdom and Scotland have recently instituted guidelines banning physicians' white coats and wearing of long-sleeved garments to decrease hospital transmission of bacteria. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Any ageHealthy volunteers can take part
What is being tested?
Physician uniform
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
110 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Apr 2008to Nov 2009
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages Any age
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child, Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Internal medicine interns, residents, and hospitalists working on acute medicine ward service.

Who cannot join

  • Not willing/unable to participate in study
  • Not working a full 8 hour day in the hospital

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Denver Health

    Denver, Colorado, 80204

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Physician Dress Code And Microbial Colonization Of The White Coat: Does Physician Dress Code Alter Bacterial Colonization Rate On The Clothing Of Physicians?

Governmental agencies in the United Kingdom and Scotland have recently instituted guidelines banning physicians' white coats and wearing of long-sleeved garments to decrease hospital transmission of bacteria. The purpose of this study is to compare the bacterial contamination of physicians' white coats with that of newly laundered, standardized short-sleeved uniforms after an eight-hour workday and to determine the rate at which bacterial contamination of the uniform ensues. Our hypothesis was that the physician white coat would have more bacterial contamination at the end of the work day.

Read the detailed description

Governmental agencies in the United Kingdom and Scotland have recently instituted guidelines banning physicians' white coats and wearing of long-sleeved garments to decrease nosocomial transmission of bacteria. Our goal was to compare the degree of bacterial and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus contamination of physicians' white coats with that of newly laundered, standardized short-sleeved uniforms after an eight-hour workday and to determine the rate at which bacterial contamination of the uniform ensues. 100 interns, residents, and hospitalists on an internal medicine service were randomized to wear either physician white coat or newly laundered, short-sleeved uniform. Bacterial colony counts and the frequency with which methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was found was compared in the two groups and over time. Our initial hypothesis was that physician white coats would have more bacterial contamination at the end of the work day.

Being tested
Physician uniform
Keywords
physician uniform, MRSA, bacterial contamination

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Physician uniformOther

    Participants were given a clean uniform (scrubs) on the day of the study. They wore this for approximately 8 hours.

Study groups in NCT01192841
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
White coat groupNo interventionParticipants continued their regular practice of wearing their physician white coat.
Uniform groupExperimentalParticipants were given a clean uniform (scrubs) at the beginning of the day.
Receives: Other: Physician uniform

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Bacterial colony counts and the frequency with which methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was found over time

    Measured: 8 hours

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted1 Sep 2010 (estimated)
  2. Study startApr 2008
  3. Primary completionNov 2009
  4. Study completionNov 2009

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
110 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01192841
Sponsor's protocol ID
07-1137
Status last verified
Aug 2010
First submitted
30 Aug 2010
Last updated
1 Sep 2010
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes

Publications

  • Burden M, Cervantes L, Weed D, Keniston A, Price CS, Albert RK. Newly cleaned physician uniforms and infrequently washed white coats have similar rates of bacterial contamination after an 8-hour workday: a randomized controlled trial. J Hosp Med. 2011 Apr;6(4):177-82. doi: 10.1002/jhm.864. Epub 2011 Feb 10.

    PubMed 21312328

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Physician uniform in people with Bacterial Contamination of Physician Attire, run by Denver Health and Hospital Authority at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 1 Sep 2010. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Bacterial colony counts and the frequency with which methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was found over time (time frame: 8 hours). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT01192841, which also lists 1 linked publication.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 1 Sep 2010.

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