Bacteria on Medical Professionals’ White Coats in a University Hospital

Table 1

Ward-wise distribution of bacterial load on fabric swatches after the first and second work shifts.

Wards	Work shift	Bacterial count (CFU/inch^2)
		Sample from nurses		Average count = (1 + 2)/2	Increase after second shift (%)
		1	2
Medicine	I	125	94	109.5	54.3
	II	175	163	169
Surgery	I	119	88	103.5	51.2
	II	206	107	156.5
Postoperative	I	381	681	531	27.3
	II	475	877	676
Maternity	I	1875	1125	1500	29.5
	II	2348	1537	1942.5
Intensive care unit	I	500	487	493.5	248.2
	II	1875	1562	1718.5
Pediatric	I	325	487	406	18.5
	II	394	568	481
Total count in all six wards	I	3325	2962	3143.5	63.6
	II	5473	4814	5143.5
Average count in each ward	I	554	494	524	63.6
	II	912	802	857
Controls	No growth