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Wristwatch use and hospital-acquired infection

Wristwatch use and hospital-acquired infection
Wristwatch use and hospital-acquired infection
The wrists and hands of hospital-based healthcare workers (HCWs) were sampled for bacterial contamination in two consecutive cross-sectional cohort studies of wristwatch wearers and non-wristwatch wearers. In the first study (N=100), wrists were sampled by skin swabs and hands by direct plate inoculation. In the second study (N=155) wrists were sampled after each HCW removed the watch immediately prior to sampling. Staphylococcus aureus was found on the hands of 25% of wristwatch wearers and 22.9% of non-wristwatch wearers in the first study. Watch wearers had higher counts of bacteria on their wrist (P<0.001) but not on their hands. In the second study, removal of the watch prior to sampling resulted in increased counts of bacteria on both hands as well as on the watch wrist compared with non-watch wearers (P<0.001). In conclusion, wearing a wristwatch results in an increase in bacterial contamination of the wrist but excess hand contamination does not occur unless the watch is manipulated
0195-6701
16-21
Jeans, A.R.
68892a7b-1314-41bf-9294-d8075d572b06
Moore, J.
d14b0333-92fc-4d44-8c33-6b008956be4a
Nicol, C.
4ba13b09-6457-4dd5-baf8-4e5eee3e0809
Bates, C.
7c0c212a-8c1a-4a1f-9eee-590280e5e54e
Read, R.C.
b5caca7b-0063-438a-b703-7ecbb6fc2b51
Jeans, A.R.
68892a7b-1314-41bf-9294-d8075d572b06
Moore, J.
d14b0333-92fc-4d44-8c33-6b008956be4a
Nicol, C.
4ba13b09-6457-4dd5-baf8-4e5eee3e0809
Bates, C.
7c0c212a-8c1a-4a1f-9eee-590280e5e54e
Read, R.C.
b5caca7b-0063-438a-b703-7ecbb6fc2b51

Jeans, A.R., Moore, J., Nicol, C., Bates, C. and Read, R.C. (2010) Wristwatch use and hospital-acquired infection. Journal of Hospital Infection, 74 (1), 16-21. (doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2009.06.032). (PMID:19751955)

Record type: Article

Abstract

The wrists and hands of hospital-based healthcare workers (HCWs) were sampled for bacterial contamination in two consecutive cross-sectional cohort studies of wristwatch wearers and non-wristwatch wearers. In the first study (N=100), wrists were sampled by skin swabs and hands by direct plate inoculation. In the second study (N=155) wrists were sampled after each HCW removed the watch immediately prior to sampling. Staphylococcus aureus was found on the hands of 25% of wristwatch wearers and 22.9% of non-wristwatch wearers in the first study. Watch wearers had higher counts of bacteria on their wrist (P<0.001) but not on their hands. In the second study, removal of the watch prior to sampling resulted in increased counts of bacteria on both hands as well as on the watch wrist compared with non-watch wearers (P<0.001). In conclusion, wearing a wristwatch results in an increase in bacterial contamination of the wrist but excess hand contamination does not occur unless the watch is manipulated

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More information

Published date: January 2010
Organisations: Clinical & Experimental Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 346803
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/346803
ISSN: 0195-6701
PURE UUID: 6b9017c1-ff4e-48bf-a586-a292ee1a3721
ORCID for R.C. Read: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4297-6728

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 10 Jan 2013 12:09
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:42

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Contributors

Author: A.R. Jeans
Author: J. Moore
Author: C. Nicol
Author: C. Bates
Author: R.C. Read ORCID iD

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