lead clothes cannot be disinfected with a germicidal wipe containing alcohol or chlorine-containing disinfectants, making it difficult to disinfect the surface of medical lead clothes. 4 We conducted a study to observe the use of medical lead clothes in our operating rooms. There were 76 pieces of medical lead clothes of the same type that were being used in our operating rooms for surgery that involved use of radiograph apparatus. Each item of lead clothing was disinfected with a germicidal wipe containing quaternary ammonium salt at the end of an operative day. No item of medical lead clothing was sterilized between uses during the day. We found 39 pieces of medical lead clothes were used more than once; some were used 3 or 4 times. Secondly, there were 27 pieces of medical lead clothes with visible blood at the end of the day, which had the potential to transmit bacteria or viral infections to patients as well as wearers and cleaners. Thirdly, the presence of bacteria was detected. Before the disinfection of medical lead clothes, swabs that had an area of 25 cm 2 at the 5 diagonal points were sampled. Each sample was placed in a tube and inoculated on a general nutrient agar plate, and then incubated for 48 hours at 37°C. The MicroScan WalkAway 96 PLUS instrument (Siemens, Dade Behring, Deerfield, IL) was used for the identification of the bacteria. Staphylococcus aureus, epidermal S aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter, and methicillin-resistant S aureus were all isolated.We concluded that medical lead clothes should be cleaned after each use and that medical lead clothes contaminated by blood should be promptly decontaminated. Ideally, medical lead clothes should be washed in commercially available purpose-built automatic washing machines. The covers of medical lead clothes, which not only can be detachable but also have a moisture-resistant coating, are a useful alternative. Medical lead clothes with antimicrobial material or components may assist in cross-contamination and infection prevention.
