Datta Priya, Kaur Mandeep, Rawat Sangeeta, Gupta Varsha, Chander Jagdish
Government Medical College Hospital, Chandigarh, India.
J Infect Dev Ctries. 2018 Oct 31;12(10):887-893. doi: 10.3855/jidc.10128.
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.
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.
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.
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.
听诊器用于评估患者健康状况，但也可能成为疾病传播的潜在源头。本研究旨在查明听诊器的污染率，评估医护人员对听诊器清洁的认知和态度，并确定70%酒精作为清洁剂的效果。
2015年10月，在一家三级护理医院对医护人员开展了这项基于医院的横断面研究。要求他们填写一份问卷，然后在用70%异丙醇清洁听诊器之前和之后，对听诊器的膜片和钟型听头表面进行培养。
在培养的100个听诊器中，发现56个至少被一种微生物污染。鲍曼不动杆菌是最常见的污染物，其次是肺炎克雷伯菌。12株金黄色葡萄球菌中有3株表现出耐甲氧西林特性。与病房和门诊部门相比，急诊区域使用的听诊器污染更严重。尽管医护人员的知晓率达100%，但只有70%经常进行听诊器清洁的人认识到了清洁的重要性。
听诊器是医疗相关感染传播的潜在媒介。因此，每次使用后对其进行清洁以减少医源性感染负担至关重要。
