Computer Keyboard and Mouse as a Reservoir of Pathogens in an Intensive Care Unit

Hartmann, Bernd; Benson, Matthew A.; Jünger, Alexander; Quinzio, L.; Röhrig, Rainer; Fengler, Bernhard; Färber, Udo W.; Wille, Burkhard; Hempelmann, G.

doi:10.1023/b:jocm.0000025279.27084.39

Cited by 115 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Several studies have reported contamination of these objects and their possible role in the transmission of HAIs [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Our study, unlike others, considered all these items together in a hospital setting, as well as comparing units with different organization, patient turnover, medical personnel, and visitors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Healthcare equipment is frequently shared between hospital staff, who may have different hygiene practices. Medical devices (stethoscopes, otoscopes, and thermometers) and various objects in hospital environments, such as telephones and computers, have been associated with transmission of HAIs [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Stethoscopes/phonendoscopes (stethoscopes) are medical devices frequently used in direct contact with patients' skin and can therefore be a vector of infections.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stethoscopes/phonendoscopes (stethoscopes) are medical devices frequently used in direct contact with patients' skin and can therefore be a vector of infections. These occurrences are known to the scientific community and testified by numerous international studies [9,11,[16][17][18]. Physicians should disinfect stethoscopes between one patient and another, though unfortunately this good practice is not always implemented.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Environmental contaminants in hospital settings and progress in disinfecting techniques

Messina

Ceriale

Lenzi

et al. 2013

European Journal of Public Health

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Medical devices, such as stethoscopes, and other objects found in hospital, such as computer keyboards and telephone handsets, may be reservoirs of bacteria for healthcare-associated infections. In this cross-over study involving an Italian teaching hospital we evaluated microbial contamination (total bacterial count (TBC) at 36 ∘ C/22 ∘ C, Staphylococcus spp., moulds, Enterococcus spp., Pseudomonas spp., E. coli, total coliform bacteria, Acinetobacter spp., and Clostridium difficile) of these devices before and after cleaning and differences in contamination between hospital units and between stethoscopes and keyboards plus handsets. We analysed 37 telephone handsets, 27 computer keyboards, and 35 stethoscopes, comparing their contamination in four hospital units. Wilcoxon signed-rank and Mann-Whitney tests were used. Before cleaning, many samples were positive for Staphylococcus spp. and coliforms. After cleaning, CFUs decreased to zero in most comparisons. The first aid unit had the highest and intensive care the lowest contamination ( < 0.01). Keyboards and handsets had higher TBC at 22 ∘ C ( = 0.046) and mould contamination ( = 0.002) than stethoscopes. Healthcare professionals should disinfect stethoscopes and other possible sources of bacterial healthcare-associated infections. The cleaning technique used was effective in reducing bacterial contamination. Units with high patient turnover, such as first aid, should practise stricter hygiene.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Environmental contaminants in hospital settings and progress in disinfecting techniques

Messina

Ceriale

Lenzi

et al. 2013

European Journal of Public Health

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“…Numerous studies have indicated that computer keyboards (and mouse) can become contaminated with pathogenic bacteria (Schultz et al, 2003;Hartmann et al, 2004;Rutala et al, 2006;Eltablawy and Elhifnawi, 2009;Anastasiades et al, 2009;Shen, 2010;Tagoe and Kumi-Ansah, 2011). In health care settings, it is perhaps Science Publications AJM not unexpected that such microorganisms would contaminate these common work surfaces.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The contamination rate of keyboards and mouse was 70.3 and 29.7%, respectively. It was revealed by Hartmann et al (2004) that the highest rate of contamination in patients, rooms was found on keyboards. Schultz et al (2003) found that the tested 100 keyboards in 29 clinical areas for bacterial contamination, 95 from them were positive for microbial contamination.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacteriological Examination of Computer Keyboards and Mouse Devices and Their Susceptibility Patterns to Disinfectants

Chimezie¹

2013

American Journal of Microbiology

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Computers are ubiquitous and have been shown to be contaminated with potentially pathogenic bacteria in some communities. There is no economical way to test all the keyboards and mouse out there, but there are common-sense ways to prevent bacterial contamination or eliminate it if it exists. In this study, swabs specimens were collected from surfaces of 250 computer keyboards and mouse and plated on different bacteriological media. Organisms growing on the media were purified and identified using microbiological standards. It was found that all the tested computer keyboards and mouse devices, were positive for microbial contamination. The percentages of isolated bacteria (Staphylococcus spp., Escherichia spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus spp.) were 43.3, 40.9, 30.7, 34.1, 18.3, 18.2, 7.7 and 6.8% for computer keyboards and mouse respectively. The isolated bacteria were tested against the 6 different disinfectants (Dettol, Isol, Izal, JIK, Purit and Septol ® ). Antibacterial effects of the disinfectants were also concentration dependent. The agar well diffusion technique for determining Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) was employed. The Killing rate (K) and Decimal Reduction Time (DRT) of the disinfectants on the organism were also determined. The overall result of this study showed that Dettol ® , followed by JIK ® was highly effective against all the bacterial isolates tested while Septol and Izal ® were least effective. Isol and Purit ® showed moderate antibacterial effects. Keyboards and mouse should be disinfected daily. However, it is recommended that heightened surveillance of the microbial examination of computer keyboards should be undertaken at predetermined intervals.

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Analysis and Considerations of the Controllability of EMG-Based Force Input

Nozaki

Kataoka

Cruz

et al. 2023

Lecture Notes in Computer Science

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Computer Keyboard and Mouse as a Reservoir of Pathogens in an Intensive Care Unit

Cited by 115 publications

References 11 publications

Environmental contaminants in hospital settings and progress in disinfecting techniques

Environmental contaminants in hospital settings and progress in disinfecting techniques

Bacteriological Examination of Computer Keyboards and Mouse Devices and Their Susceptibility Patterns to Disinfectants

Analysis and Considerations of the Controllability of EMG-Based Force Input

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