Title |
Bacteriological assessment of stethoscopes used by healthcare workers in a tertiary care centre of Nepal
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Published in |
BMC Research Notes, July 2017
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DOI | 10.1186/s13104-017-2677-7 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Sangita Thapa, Lokendra Bahadur Sapkota |
Abstract |
Stethoscope 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. This 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. |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Unknown | 48 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Bachelor | 10 | 21% |
Student > Master | 5 | 10% |
Professor > Associate Professor | 4 | 8% |
Other | 3 | 6% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 2 | 4% |
Other | 5 | 10% |
Unknown | 19 | 40% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Medicine and Dentistry | 11 | 23% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 4 | 8% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 3 | 6% |
Immunology and Microbiology | 2 | 4% |
Environmental Science | 1 | 2% |
Other | 7 | 15% |
Unknown | 20 | 42% |