Abstract

In this issue of the Southern Medical Journal, Callahan and Seifi raise concerns about the propriety and potential risks of healthcare personnel wearing ‘‘scrub’’ uniforms outside their intended environments.¹ Their concerns are threefold--microbiological, patient perception specific, and regulatory--and are, in my view, absolutely valid. As pointed out by the authors, the original intention for the use of scrubs by healthcare personnel was to provide relatively ‘‘clean’’ clothing that could be worn in the conduct of invasive patient procedures and could be laundered sufficiently to remove biological contaminants such as blood and mucosal secretions, without undue risk of transfer of contamination. Part of a broad infection-control policy in hospitals and clinics, which includes the scrubbing of hands and arms and the wearing of gowns, gloves, and face masks, the use of scrub clothing in surgical procedures has stood the test of time.