Nosocomial Hazards of Doctor`s Mobile Phones in Hospitals

Tambekar, D. H.; Gulhane, P.B.; Dahikar, S. B.; Dudhane, M. N.

doi:10.3923/jms.2008.73.76

Cited by 38 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The results of most studies on MPs show that these items constitute a potential risk for the colonization of microorganisms and nosocomial infections [7,15,16,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24]35,48]. The use of MPs by HCWs increases the risk of repetitive cyclic contamination between the hands and face (e.g., nose, ears, and lips), and differences in personal hygiene and behaviors can further contribute to the risk [23].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are healthcare workers’ mobile phones a potential source of nosocomial infections? Review of the literature

Ülger

Dilek

Esen

et al. 2015

J Infect Dev Ctries

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mobile communication devices help accelerate in-hospital flow of medical information, information sharing and querying, and contribute to communications in the event of emergencies through their application and access to wireless media technology. Healthcare-associated infections remain a leading and high-cost problem of global health systems despite improvements in modern therapies. The objective of this article was to review different studies on the relationship between mobile phones (MPs) and bacterial crosscontamination and report common findings. Thirty-nine studies published between 2005 and 2013 were reviewed. Of these, 19 (48.7%) identified coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), and 26 (66.7%) identified Staphylococcus aureus; frequency of growth varied. The use of MPs by healthcare workers increases the risk of repetitive cyclic contamination between the hands and face (e.g., nose, ears, and lips), and differences in personal hygiene and behaviors can further contribute to the risks. MPs are rarely cleaned after handling. They may transmit microorganisms, including multiple resistant strains, after contact with patients, and can be a source of bacterial cross-contamination. To prevent bacterial contamination of MPs, hand-washing guidelines must be followed and technical standards for prevention strategies should be developed.Key words: healthcare workers; mobile phones; bacteria; nosocomial infection; contamination. J Infect Dev Ctries IntroductionThe rapid progress of modern technology has contributed not only to medical fields, but also to the development of technologies for individual use. This technology includes personal computers, pagers, mobile hand-held devices (MHDs) (wireless tablets such as iPad, droids, etc.) and mobile phones (MPs), in which improvements have been made at a staggering speed over the past 20 years [1][2][3]. MPs and MHDs help accelerate in-hospital flow of medical information and information sharing and querying, and contribute to communications in the event of emergencies through their application and access to wireless media technology [1,2]. As technology in this area has evolved, MHDs that provide laboratory and imaging results, patient data, and photographic images are being used by physicians during bedside rounds to engage clinicians, residents, and students. Healthcare workers (HCWs) access pharmaceutical knowledge and literature by MPs and MHDs, which facilitates learning and clinical performance [4,5]. It is possible,

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are healthcare workers’ mobile phones a potential source of nosocomial infections? Review of the literature

Ülger

Dilek

Esen

et al. 2015

J Infect Dev Ctries

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Most of them who are aware of its pathogenic potential also don't clean, as per the instructions of mobile phone manufacturers that contact with water or liquid disinfectant might damage the software of their expensive mobile phones. (Tambekar et al, 2008;Jayalakshmi et al, 2008).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial Contamination of Mobile Phones in a Tertiary Health Care Setting

Jayabal¹,

Rani²,

Jais³

et al. 2016

Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The studies conducted by Ulger et al, (2009) Tambekar et al, (2008) showed higher rates of contamination (94.5%, 95%). In contrary, studies conducted by Killic et al, (2009) and Datta et al, (2009) found contamination of mobile phones to be 61.3% and 72% respectively which are less than the rate of mobile phone contamination in the current study.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%