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. Environmental cultures revealed unexpected contamination of blood pressure cuffs at a rate similar to that for bedside commodes (10% and 11.5%, respectively). An observational survey revealed that healthcare workers in the patient care areas not infrequently failed to remove their potentially stool-contaminated gloves prior to touching clean surfaces, which might have contributed to contamination of blood pressure cuffs.