Dressler Rachel L, Cruser Bonnie, Dressler Daniel D
Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA.
Department of Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA.
Cureus. 2023 Apr 3;15(4):e37061. doi: 10.7759/cureus.37061. eCollection 2023 Apr.
Stethoscope surfaces become contaminated with bacteria due to inconsistent cleaning practices, as cleaning frequency and practical cleansing approaches are not well-established.
We investigated bacterial contamination of stethoscopes at baseline, after simple cleaning, and after examining one patient. We surveyed 30 hospital providers on stethoscope cleaning practices and then measured bacterial contamination of stethoscope diaphragm surfaces before cleaning, after cleaning with alcohol-based hand sanitizer, and after use in examining one patient.
Only 20% of providers reported cleaning stethoscopes regularly. Before cleaning, 50% of stethoscopes were contaminated with bacteria, compared with 0% after cleaning (p<0.001) and 36.7% after examining one patient (p=0.002). Among providers who reported not cleaning stethoscopes regularly, 58% had bacterial-contaminated stethoscopes compared with 17% who did report cleaning regularly (p=0.068).
Hospital providers' stethoscopes had a high probability of bacterial contamination at baseline and after examining one patient. We recommend decontamination with alcohol-based hand sanitizer immediately before each patient examination.
由于清洁措施不一致，听诊器表面会被细菌污染，因为清洁频率和实际清洁方法尚未明确。
我们在基线、简单清洁后以及检查一名患者后调查了听诊器的细菌污染情况。我们对30名医院工作人员进行了听诊器清洁做法的调查，然后测量了听诊器膜片表面在清洁前、用含酒精洗手液清洁后以及检查一名患者后使用的细菌污染情况。
只有20%的工作人员报告定期清洁听诊器。清洁前，50%的听诊器被细菌污染，清洁后为0%（p<0.001），检查一名患者后为36.7%（p=0.002）。在报告不定期清洁听诊器的工作人员中，58%的听诊器有细菌污染，而报告定期清洁的工作人员中这一比例为17%（p=0.068）。
医院工作人员的听诊器在基线时和检查一名患者后有很高的细菌污染可能性。我们建议在每次检查患者前立即用含酒精洗手液进行消毒。
