Bacterial contamination of surgical scrub suits worn outside the operating theatre: a randomised crossover study

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the bacterial contamination of surgical scrub suits worn outside the operating theatre. We randomised 16 anaesthetists on separate occasions into one of 3 groups: restricted to the operating theatre only; theatre and surgical wards; and theatre and departmental office. For each group, sample fabric pieces attached to the chest, waist and hip areas of each suit were removed at 150 min intervals between 08:30 and 16:00 on the day of study, and sent for microbiological assessment. Mean bacterial counts increased significantly over the course of the working day (p = 0.036), and were lower in the chest compared to the hip (p = 0.007) and waist areas (p = 0.016). The mean (SD) bacterial counts, expressed as colony-forming units per cm(2) at 16:00 on the day of study, were 25.2 (43.5) for those restricted to theatre and 18.5 (25.9) and 17.9 (31.0) for those allowed out to visit the ward and office, respectively (p = 0.370). We conclude that visits to ward and office did not significantly increase bacterial contamination of scrub suits.