Protection from contamination by potentially infectious fluids is an i
ncreasingly important aspect of hospital safety programs. Technical pe
rsonnel in clinical laboratories may handle numerous samples of human
blood and other fluids daily, and to protect themselves against exposu
re to bloodborne pathogens they routinely wear laboratory coats. We st
udied the effectiveness of six disposable (polypropylene; either spun-
bond or spun-bond/melt-blown/spun-bond construction) and four reusable
(polyester-cotton) laboratory coats in preventing blood passage. Fabr
ics (1018 samples) were tested at six time durations (1 s-5 min) and f
ive pressures [1.7-13.8 kPa (0.25-2.0 psi)]. A standard spray test use
d to evaluate resistance to wetting showed that reusable coats were le
ss repellent than disposables (P <0.05). Pressure testing showed that
reusable and spun-bond coats allowed greater blood passage than the sp
un-bond/melt-blown/spun-bond. Laboratory coats should be chosen that h
ave sufficient resistance to blood or other body fluid passage for the
task performed and for the period of time used.