Short sleeves reduce risk for pathogen transmission.

Short sleeves reduce risk for pathogen transmission. Simulated patient care interactions showed that the cuffs of physicians’ long-sleeved white coats could contribute to the transmission of pathogens, leading researchers to recommend short sleeves. Prior research has shown that physicians’ white coats are rarely cleaned and often contaminated. These findings have prompted a “bare below the elbows” dress code policy in the U.K. However, whether short sleeves decrease the probability of pathogen transmission remains unknown, according to Amrita John, MD, from the division of infectious diseases and HIV medicine at Case Western Reserve University.more