CLOSTRIDIUM-DIFFICILE CONTAMINATION OF BLOOD-PRESSURE CUFFS - A CALL FOR A CLOSER LOOK AT GLOVING PRACTICES IN THE ERA OF UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS

We report an outbreak of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea at our medical center following adoption of Universal Precautions, Enviro nmental cultures revealed unexpected contamination of blood pressure c uffs at a rate similar to that for bedside commodes (10% and 11.5%, re spectively). An observational survey revealed that healthcare workers in the patient care areas not infrequently failed to remove their pote ntially stool-contaminated gloves prior to touching clean surfaces, wh ich might have contributed to contamination of blood pressure cuffs.