Highlights
- •Stethoscope disinfection efficiency.
- •Hospital acquired infections caused by stethoscope.
- •Stethoscope cleaning practices.
- •Stethoscope contamination with bacteria.
- •Guidelines for stethoscope disinfection.
Background
In the United States, nosocomial infections are estimated to cause 72,000 annual deaths.
The stethoscope, commonly used, is rarely reported as a potential vector. Our study
aims to describe stethoscope contamination and the effect of self-reported cleaning
practices among health care providers in a community hospital setting.
Methods
Stethoscopes were collected at random times from health care providers and cultured
per standard techniques. Providers answered a structured questionnaire related to
their cleaning practices. Differences in bacterial growth rates and the impact of
profession, cleaning frequency, and prior sanitization were evaluated.
Results
Of 104 cultured stethoscopes, 44% were from residents and medical students, from which
76% had bacterial growth, and 56% were from attendings, nurses, and respiratory therapists
who had 91.4% growth (95% = confidence interval 0.62-0.86 and 0.81-0.96, respectively).
Overall, 86.5% of providers claimed disinfection frequency compliant with Center for
Disease Control and Prevention guidelines but there were no statistical differences
between self-reported cleaning frequency or methods, and the presence of bacteria.
Conclusions
Most stethoscopes are contaminated with bacteria, the presence of which was not affected
by reported cleaning strategies.
Key Words
Abbreviations:
HAIs (hospital acquired infections), CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), IRB (institutional review board), CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments), ICU (Intensive Care Unit), ED (Emergency Department), RNs (registered nurses), VAP (ventilator-associated pneumonia), CR-BSI (catheter related blood stream infection), CAUTI (catheter-associated urinary tract infection)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 29, 2020
Footnotes
Conflict of Interests: Dr Dadkha owns stock in Aseptiscope, LLC. Dr Peacock claims the following conflicts: Research Grants: Abbott, Brainbox, CSL Behring, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Relypsa, Roche, Salix, Siemens. Consultant: Abbott, Astra-Zeneca, Beckman, Fast Biomedical, Forrest Devices, Ischemia Care, Dx, Instrument Labs, Janssen, Nabriva, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Osler, Relypsa, Roche, Quidel, Salix, Siemens. Stock/Ownership Interests: AseptiScope Inc, Brainbox Inc, Comprehensive Research Associates LLC, Emergencies in Medicine LLC, Forrest Devices, Ischemia DX LLC.
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
