Stethoscope, “the friendly foe” – A study to evaluate bacterial contamination of stethoscopes and disinfection practices

Abstract

Introduction: Stethoscope is used to assess the health of patients but can also act as a potential source of disease transmission. The study was aimed to find out the contamination rate of stethoscopes, evaluate awareness and attitude of healthcare workers (HCWs) about stethoscope cleaning, and determine the efficacy of 70% alcohol as cleaning agent.
 Methodology: This hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in October 2015 among healthcare workers. They were asked to fill a questionnaire followed by culturing the diaphragm and bell surfaces of their stethoscopes before and after cleaning with 70% isopropyl alcohol.
 Results: Out of 100 stethoscopes cultured, 56 were found to be contaminated at least with one microorganism. Acinetobacter cbc was the commonest contaminant followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae. Three out of twelve S. aureus strains showed methicillin resistance. Stethoscopes used in emergency areas were more contaminated when compared to wards and out-patient departments. Despite 100% awareness among HCWs, the importance of stethoscope cleaning is realized by only 70% who practice it regularly.
 Conclusion: Stethoscope is a potential vector for transmission of healthcare associated infections. Hence it is vital to clean it after each use to reduce the load of iatrogenic infections.

Methods of Disinfecting Stethoscopes: Systematic Review

“…Moreover, 70 studies were commentaries or full articles not in line with the aim of the study and we have excluded them after a careful examination of the abstracts and of the full texts. Finally, we detected 17 publications [3,5,6,9,11,13,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. Among these, we included four letters to the editor (Figure 1).…”

“…Datta et al [27] proved that IPA is significantly effective in disinfection. A total of 100 stethoscope diaphragms were analyzed before and after cleaning with IPA.…”

Investigation of the Effect of Stethoscope Usage on External Ear Canal and Resistant Bacterial Colonization Among Healthcare Workers

“…Günlük tıbbi uygulamada en sık kullanılan araçlardan biri olan stetoskop, oldukça fazla sayıda hastayla temas ettiği için sık sık kirlenmektedir. Bu tür tıbbi cihazlar, düzenli olarak temizlenmezse infeksiyon kaynağı haline gelebilirler [16] . Datta ve arkadaşları sağlık çalışanları arasında stetoskop temizliğine verilen önemi araştırdıkları çalışmada hemşirelerin doktorlara kıyasla stetoskoplarını daha sık temizlediklerini ve bu bulguya paralel olarak doktorlara ait stetoskoplarda daha fazla bakteriyel kolonizasyon olduğunu saptamışlardır [16] .…”

“…Bu tür tıbbi cihazlar, düzenli olarak temizlenmezse infeksiyon kaynağı haline gelebilirler [16] . Datta ve arkadaşları sağlık çalışanları arasında stetoskop temizliğine verilen önemi araştırdıkları çalışmada hemşirelerin doktorlara kıyasla stetoskoplarını daha sık temizlediklerini ve bu bulguya paralel olarak doktorlara ait stetoskoplarda daha fazla bakteriyel kolonizasyon olduğunu saptamışlardır [16] . Yapılan başka bir çalışmada da hemşirelerin doktorlara kıyasla stetoskoplarını daha sık temizledikleri ve hemşirelere ait stetoskopların daha az kolonize olduğu bildirilmiştir [15] .…”

Clinically significant bacteria on doctors stethoscope in Makurdi, Nigeria and their antibacterial susceptibilities

“…5,14,16,18 The bacterial diversity of stethoscopes and other noncritical devices has been examined in depth, and the results reveal that they can be used to disseminate microorganisms. 14,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] The findings of these studies and others have revealed a wide range of contamination rates ranging between 30-100%, as well as a variety of bacteria. 21,23,[29][30][31][32] These bacteria include the following Streptococcus, Porphyromonas, Escherichia coli, Corynebacterium, Methicillin-sensitive, and methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Granulicatella, Propionibacterium, Bacteroides, Prevotella, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), and Clostridium difficile, etc.…”