Highlights
- •Stethoscopes were disinfected in 72 of 400 observed encounters (18%).
- •Only 15 of the observed disinfections (3.8% of 400 encounters) were compliant with US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
- •No stethoscopes were disinfected before use near open chest or abdominal wounds.
- •Hands were cleaned before and after encounters only 27 times (6.8% of 400).
- •Hands were not cleaned at all in 58% of encounters, although gloves were often worn.
Background
Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusions
Key Words
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Footnotes
Conflicts of interest: None to report.