Bacterial contamination of surgical loupes and headlights

Abstract

BackgroundMedical equipment can transmit pathogenic bacteria to patients. This single-institution point prevalence study aimed to characterise the types and relative amount of bacteria found on surgical loupes, headlights and their battery packs.MethodSurgical loupes, headlights and battery packs of 16 otolaryngology staff and residents were sampled, cultured and quantified. Plate scores were summed for each equipment type, and the total was divided by the number of users to generate mean bacterial burden scores. Residents completed a questionnaire regarding their equipment cleaning practices.ResultsThe contamination rates of loupes, headlights and battery packs were 68.75 per cent, 100 per cent and 75 per cent, respectively. Battery packs cultured more bacteria (1.58 per swab ± 1.00) than loupes (0.75 per swab ± 0.66; p = 0.024). Headlights had non-significantly greater growth (1.50 per swab ± 0.71) than loupes (p = 0.052). Bacterial growth was significantly higher from inner surfaces of loupes (p = 0.035) and headlights (p = 0.037). Potentially pathogenic bacteria were cultured from the equipment of five participants, including: Pantoea agglomerans, Acinetobacter radioresistens, Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus baumannii complex and Moraxella osloensis.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that surgical loupes and headlights used in otolaryngology harbour non-pathogenic skin flora and potentially pathogenic bacteria.

Bacterial Pathogens and Their Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns of Inanimate Surfaces and Equipment in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…Moreover, the discrepancy could be due to variation in the study setting, selection of appropriate cleaning and disinfecting products, disinfectant kill time, and existing infection prevention and control strategies [51]. The present finding is comparable with the study conducted on bacterial contamination of an operating theatre in Nigeria [62] with contamination of 78%, a study in Iran [21] on microbial contamination of keyboards and electronic equipment of ICU (n = 76) showing a 76% contamination rate of computer keyboards and electronic devices, a study conducted in India [60] to assess the bacterial contamination of stethoscope diaphragms (n = 200) sampled from HCWs (79%), a study in Canada [63] on bacterial contamination of surgical loupes (68.75%), and a study in Sri Lanka [64] conducted to assess anesthetist personal mobile phones and wristwatch bacterial contamination during theatre sessions (70%). Also, a lower prevalence of bacterial contamination of inanimate surfaces and equipment compared to the present finding was reported including a study (2009-2015) done in Egypt [65] to assess bacteriology of inanimate surfaces and equipment among selected hospitals which report a prevalence of 25.6% and studies from India [66,67] aimed at evaluating bacterial contamination from clinical inert environment (n = 100) and cell phone of HCW (=30) which report 38% and 42.8% of contamination, respectively.…”

A multinational survey characterizing the use of surgical magnifying loupes in dermatological surgery

“…It was also evident there were proponents of loupes and those who were less enthusiastic (Table 3). Another potential negative factor is that recent study has demonstrated that loupes can act as a surface for microbes—however there is insufficient evidence to suggest that this could be linked to increased surgical site infections 21,22 . Nevertheless, routine cleaning of loupes should be recommended.…”

Moraxella osloensis infection among adults and children: A pediatric case and literature review

“…It is an oxidase-positive, catalase-positive, and aerobic Gram-negative coccobacillus known to be pathogenic to the mollusc, using a nematode as a vehicle [5]. M. osloensis has been isolated from environmental sources in hospitals [6], from the normal human respiratory tract [7], and from ocular infections (conjunctivitis, keratitis) [8,9]. Except for its role as an ocular bacterial pathogen, it is a rare cause of infection and is usually considered a contaminant by most clinical laboratories.…”