The potential role of stethoscopes as a source of nosocomial infection

Gupta, Neeta; Gandham, Nageswari; Misra, Rabindra Nath; Jadhav, Savita; Ujgare, Mahadeo; Vyawahare, Chanda

doi:10.4103/0975-2870.126323

Cited by 11 publications

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“…among the pathogenic bacteria colonizing stethoscopes, although followed by CoNS as the second commonest. Another study by Gupta et al [16] found Acinetobacter spp. as the second commonest bacteria (5%) colonizing stethoscopes after CONS (77%).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Stethoscope, “the friendly foe” – A study to evaluate bacterial contamination of stethoscopes and disinfection practices

Kaur

Rawat

Gupta

et al. 2018

J Infect Dev Ctries

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Introduction: Stethoscope is used to assess the health of patients but can also act as a potential source of disease transmission. The study was aimed to find out the contamination rate of stethoscopes, evaluate awareness and attitude of healthcare workers (HCWs) about stethoscope cleaning, and determine the efficacy of 70% alcohol as cleaning agent. Methodology: This hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in October 2015 among healthcare workers. They were asked to fill a questionnaire followed by culturing the diaphragm and bell surfaces of their stethoscopes before and after cleaning with 70% isopropyl alcohol. Results: Out of 100 stethoscopes cultured, 56 were found to be contaminated at least with one microorganism. Acinetobacter cbc was the commonest contaminant followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae. Three out of twelve S. aureus strains showed methicillin resistance. Stethoscopes used in emergency areas were more contaminated when compared to wards and out-patient departments. Despite 100% awareness among HCWs, the importance of stethoscope cleaning is realized by only 70% who practice it regularly. Conclusion: Stethoscope is a potential vector for transmission of healthcare associated infections. Hence it is vital to clean it after each use to reduce the load of iatrogenic infections.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Stethoscope, “the friendly foe” – A study to evaluate bacterial contamination of stethoscopes and disinfection practices

Kaur

Rawat

Gupta

et al. 2018

J Infect Dev Ctries

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“…The development of nosocomial infection is a significant problem in each hospital. Such infections can result due to multiple causes like development and persistence of multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria, immunocompromised states of patients, and mechanical transmission of microorganisms [ 1 ]. Some non-critical medical devices routinely used by Health care workers (HCWs) such as stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs electronic thermometers, latex gloves, masks, pens, and white coats play significant role in the transmission of health care associated infections (HCAIs) [ 2 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacteriological assessment of stethoscopes used by healthcare workers in a tertiary care centre of Nepal

Thapa

Sapkota

2017

BMC Res Notes

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ObjectiveStethoscope is a medical device universally used by health care workers. Stethoscope may transmit pathogens among patients and health care workers if it is not disinfected. The objective of this study was to, determine the level of stethoscope contamination used by health care workers, survey the practices of disinfecting the stethoscope, identify various microorganisms and assess their role as potential pathogens and determine the effectiveness of 70% ethanol as a disinfecting agent.ResultsThis was a cross-sectional study conducted in the department of Microbiology, Chitwan Medical College, Bharatpur, Nepal. Stethoscopes of 122 health care workers from different departments were included in this study. Out of a total 122 diaphragms, 88 (72.1%) were colonized. Only 71 (58.1%) bells and 152 earpieces (66.2%) were contaminated. Micrococcus and coagulase negative staphylococci were predominantly isolated species. The contamination was lowest among stethoscopes cleaned after touching every patient (11.5%) and the difference is statistically significant (P < 0.0001). Significantly lower level of contamination (13.6%) were found on stethoscopes cleaned everyday (P < 0.0001). Only 8.5% stethoscope showed growth with decreased number of colonies after disinfecting the stethoscopes with 70% ethanol. Thus, demonstrating the effectiveness of disinfection.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-017-2677-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…This is in accordance with few other studies. [9,20] Disinfected stethoscopes after encountering patient's skin harbours' common normal skin ora like Staphylococcus aureus. In this study, many stethoscopes (78.03%) after examining a single patient were contaminated with microbes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stethoscopes - A Potential Vector in Hospitalacquired Infections

Abarna.

Vitheeswari.

Sriram

2020

ijsr

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Introduction: Stethoscopes serve as a potential source for pathogenic bacteria in the transmission of hospital acquired infections. Routine disinfection of stethoscopes could reduce the potential for transmission by reducing the burden of contamination. Despite these facts, a few health care workers disinfect their stethoscopes regularly. Aim: To study the diversity of pathogenic organisms on the diaphragm of stethoscopes and the efficacy of various disinfectants will be compared; and the knowledge and practices in disinfection of stethoscopes among health care workers will be assessed. Materials & Methods: This is a cross sectional study involving a total of 132 health care workers including doctors, nurses and interns. Three swabs were collected from the same individual’s stethoscopes. First swab collected before disinfection, second swab after disinfection (soap and water, 70% isopropyl alcohol, Savlon or surgical spirit) and the third swab after examining a patient. Questionnaire was given to them to evaluate their practices regarding cleaning of their stethoscopes. Results: 94(71.21%) samples taken before disinfection were contaminated with mixed microbial flora, including 29(30.85%) MRSA. After examining patients using disinfected stethoscopes, 103(78%) samples revealed growth of different organisms like Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus-MRSA, Methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus-MSSA, Gram negative bacilli and other normal skin flora. 112(84.85%) participants accepted that stethoscopes could transmit infectious diseases and they must be cleaned regularly. But in practice, only 72(54.55%) are cleaning it and most of them were using surgical spirit. Out of the four disinfectants tested, Surgical spirit and 70% Isopropyl alcohol were found to be effective. Conclusion: Despite having knowledge about the significance of cleaning the stethoscopes, lesser percentage of Healthcare workers follow it in practice. There is a high transmissibility of human skin flora along with pathogens like MRSA among patients through stethoscopes. Thus, stethoscopes act as a potential vector in the spread of nosocomial infections. Hence it is mandatory to clean and disinfect the stethoscopes after each patient examination.

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The potential role of stethoscopes as a source of nosocomial infection

Cited by 11 publications

References 0 publications

Stethoscope, “the friendly foe” – A study to evaluate bacterial contamination of stethoscopes and disinfection practices

Stethoscope, “the friendly foe” – A study to evaluate bacterial contamination of stethoscopes and disinfection practices

Bacteriological assessment of stethoscopes used by healthcare workers in a tertiary care centre of Nepal

Stethoscopes - A Potential Vector in Hospitalacquired Infections

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