Background: Nosocomial infection has been recognized for over a century as both a critical problem affecting the quality of health care and a leading cause of morbidity, mortality and increased health care cost. Stethoscopes because of their universal use by medical professional, can be a potential source of nosocomial infections. The study was conducted to determine the bacterial contamination of stethoscopes used by health care staff as well as the practices used for cleaning them.Methods: A structured questionnaire was administered to health workers and the surface of the diaphragm of their stethoscopes swabbed for bacteriological analysis using standard techniques.Results: Of the 65 stethoscopes sampled, 33(50.8%) showed bacterial growth. All the bacterial isolates were found to be gram positive organism. The isolates were Micrococcus spp. (35.8%), Coagulase negative staphylococcus (CONS) (30.8%), Bacillus spp. (15.4%), Staphylococcus aureus (10.3%) and Diphtheroids (7.7%).Conclusions: Further research is needed to solve the question whether stethoscope contamination actually results in infection in the patient. However strict adherence to disinfection practices by health workers can minimize cross-contamination and ensure patient safety in hospital environments.

BACKGROUND Diabetes mellitus is one of the leading endocrine disorders worldwide. Thyroid dysfunction is a common endocrine disorder affecting the general population next to diabetes. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction among patients with Type 2 diabetes. METHODS This analytical cross sectional study was conducted from June 2019 to Dec 2019. One hundred and fifty type–2 diabetes patients who attended the outpatient clinic of General Medicine Department, ACS Medical College and Hospital were included in the study. A detailed history and examination was done after getting informed consent. Blood samples were collected and sent to the laboratory for the evaluation of thyroid profile. RESULTS Thyroid dysfunction was found in 27 % of the patients with diabetes. Subclinical hypothyroidism was the most common thyroid dysfunction reported (14.7 %) followed by clinical hypothyroidism (10 %), subclinical hyperthyroidism (2 %) and clinical hyperthyroidism (0.6 %). CONCLUSIONS Thyroid dysfunction is common in patients with type-2 diabetes. A substantial proportion of the diabetic patients with thyroid dysfunction have subclinical hypothyroidism. Unidentified thyroid dysfunction could negatively impact diabetes and its complications. Therefore, early and routine screening of thyroid is recommended in all patients with diabetes to reduce the burden of the disease. KEYWORDS Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus, Thyroid Dysfunction, Hypothyroidism