Department of Molecular Medical Microbiology, Chair of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland.
Students' Scientific Group of Microbiology at the Chair of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland.
Pol J Microbiol. 2023 Mar 24;72(1):79-91. doi: 10.33073/pjm-2023-012. Print 2023 Mar 1.
The stethoscope remains an indispensable diagnostic tool for medical students. Improper stethoscope hygiene may cause bacterial infections, including hospital-associated infections (HAIs), which challenge the Polish medical system. The study's main objective was to evaluate the hygiene habits declared by medical students. Moreover, microbiological control with the characteristics of potentially pathogenic microorganisms was performed. The study included 66 medical students from the Faculty of Medicine at the Jagiellonian University Medical College in Cracow, Poland. The participants filled in an anonymous questionnaire. Stethoscope contamination was assessed through isolation, identification, testing of antibiotic resistance, and clonality of the isolates bacterial pathogens. The survey showed that only 30.3% of students cleaned their stethoscopes after each patient, and 1.5% never did this. Of the 66 stethoscopes tested, 100% were positive for bacterial growth. spp. was the most frequently isolated contaminant (50.5%). The questionnaire results demonstrated the necessity of the validated procedures for cleaning the stethoscopes. Stethoscopes used by medical students are contaminated with numerous bacterial species, including multidrug-resistant organisms. The clonal structure of the MRSA and MRSE populations acquired from stethoscopes has been demonstrated. Our results confirm the possibility that these medical devices mediate the spread of hazardous pathogens in the hospital environment. Practical exercises are essential to forming the correct hygiene habits involving stethoscopes, which enable practicing and checking the correctness of the established skills.
听诊器仍然是医学生不可或缺的诊断工具。听诊器卫生不当可能导致细菌感染，包括医院相关感染（HAIs），这对波兰医疗系统构成了挑战。本研究的主要目的是评估医学生申报的卫生习惯。此外，还进行了具有潜在病原菌特征的微生物学控制。该研究包括来自波兰克拉科夫雅盖隆大学医学院医学系的 66 名医学生。参与者填写了一份匿名问卷。通过分离、鉴定、抗生素耐药性测试和细菌病原体的克隆性来评估听诊器污染情况。调查显示，只有 30.3%的学生在每个病人后清洁听诊器，而 1.5%的学生从不这样做。在测试的 66 个听诊器中，100%的听诊器都有细菌生长。 spp.是最常分离出的污染物（50.5%）。问卷结果表明，需要对听诊器进行验证的清洁程序。医学生使用的听诊器受到多种细菌的污染，包括耐多药菌。从听诊器中获得的 MRSA 和 MRSE 群体的克隆结构已经得到证实。我们的结果证实了这些医疗器械在医院环境中传播有害病原体的可能性。实践练习对于形成正确的听诊器卫生习惯至关重要，这使学生能够练习和检查既定技能的正确性。
