COMPARISON OF DECONTAMINATION BY CONVENTIONAL DOMESTIC WASH VERSUS CHEMICAL WASH OF HEALTH PROFESSIONAL UNIFORMS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH FREQUENCY OF MICROORGANISMS ON THEIR UNIFORMS

Main Article Content

Mr. Noor Ul Haq
Prof. Dr. Samina Kausar
Prof. Dr. Sidrah Saleem
Waqas Latif

Keywords

Microbial Contamination, Health Care Professionals, Conventional Domestic Wash, Chemical Decontamination

Abstract

Background: Healthcare organizations prioritize infection control to ensure a safe, and infection-free environment for patients. The spread of pathogens from hospitals by health care professionals’ uniforms and kits, as well as the efficacy of domestic laundering of health professionals’ uniforms, are still major concerns.


Objectives: To assess the frequency of microorganisms on the uniforms of health care professionals and to compare the decontamination efficacy of conventional domestic washing with germicidal chemical disinfection.


Methodology: The study utilized a randomized control trial design and a systematic random sampling technique to analyze data from 32 healthcare professionals (doctors and nurses) working in Shaikh Zayed Hospital in Lahore. The collected information was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. The mean and standard deviation were calculated for the bacterial count on health professional uniforms. Frequency and percentage were given for the categorical variable. A Chi-Square test was used to compare disinfection frequency between the interventional and control groups, with a significance level of P-value ≤ 0.05.


Result: The result of the study revealed that microorganisms were found on 32 (50%) uniforms before washing, of which 17 (53%) were from the control group and 15 (47%) were from the interventional group. After washing the uniform with detergent and 3%-H2O2 only 06 (19%) uniforms were positive for microorganisms. The following microorganisms were observed: Staphylococcus Aureus strains, Proteus Mirabilis, E-Coli, Streptococcus, and Klebsiella.


Conclusion: The domestic wash technique was less effective in reducing microorganisms from health professionals’ uniforms than chemical wash, as chemical wash can completely remove all types of microorganisms. However, it is also identified that about 78% of S. aureus strains were isolated from the positive cases.

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