Are Stethoscopes, Coats, and Pagers Potential Sources of Healthcare Associated Infections?
We conducted a study to determine the rate of bacterial colonization of stethoscopes, coats, and pagers of residents at a pediatric residency training program as compared to that of badges, sleeves, and pagers of non-patient care staff (control group). Among 213 cultures obtained from 71 residents,...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Global Pediatric Health |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/2333794X20969285 |
| _version_ | 1818062102810591232 |
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| author | Harbir S. Arora MD Deepak Kamat MD, PhD Swati Choudhry MD Basim I. Asmar MD Nahed Abdel-Haq MD |
| author_facet | Harbir S. Arora MD Deepak Kamat MD, PhD Swati Choudhry MD Basim I. Asmar MD Nahed Abdel-Haq MD |
| author_sort | Harbir S. Arora MD |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We conducted a study to determine the rate of bacterial colonization of stethoscopes, coats, and pagers of residents at a pediatric residency training program as compared to that of badges, sleeves, and pagers of non-patient care staff (control group). Among 213 cultures obtained from 71 residents, 27 potential pathogens were isolated from 22 residents (27/213, 12.7%) as compared to 10 potential pathogens out of 162 samples obtained from 54 control participants (10/162, 6.2%) ( P = .0375). The most common pathogen isolated from residents and control participants was methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). The source of positive cultures among the residents was the stethoscope (8/22, 36.3%), pager (8/22, 36.3%), and coat sleeve (11/22, 50%). The rates of colonization with potential pathogens were higher among residents than control participants and about 12% of residents’ stethoscopes, coats and pagers were colonized with bacterial pathogens. These are potential sources of nosocomial transmission of pathogenic organisms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T13:58:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-10583e814ea249e8990cf3da230f554a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2333-794X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T13:58:53Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Pediatric Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-10583e814ea249e8990cf3da230f554a2022-12-22T01:45:52ZengSAGE PublishingGlobal Pediatric Health2333-794X2020-10-01710.1177/2333794X20969285Are Stethoscopes, Coats, and Pagers Potential Sources of Healthcare Associated Infections?Harbir S. Arora MD0Deepak Kamat MD, PhD1Swati Choudhry MD2Basim I. Asmar MD3Nahed Abdel-Haq MD4Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USAUT Health Sciences Center San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USABaylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USAWayne State University, Detroit, MI, USAWayne State University, Detroit, MI, USAWe conducted a study to determine the rate of bacterial colonization of stethoscopes, coats, and pagers of residents at a pediatric residency training program as compared to that of badges, sleeves, and pagers of non-patient care staff (control group). Among 213 cultures obtained from 71 residents, 27 potential pathogens were isolated from 22 residents (27/213, 12.7%) as compared to 10 potential pathogens out of 162 samples obtained from 54 control participants (10/162, 6.2%) ( P = .0375). The most common pathogen isolated from residents and control participants was methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). The source of positive cultures among the residents was the stethoscope (8/22, 36.3%), pager (8/22, 36.3%), and coat sleeve (11/22, 50%). The rates of colonization with potential pathogens were higher among residents than control participants and about 12% of residents’ stethoscopes, coats and pagers were colonized with bacterial pathogens. These are potential sources of nosocomial transmission of pathogenic organisms.https://doi.org/10.1177/2333794X20969285 |
| spellingShingle | Harbir S. Arora MD Deepak Kamat MD, PhD Swati Choudhry MD Basim I. Asmar MD Nahed Abdel-Haq MD Are Stethoscopes, Coats, and Pagers Potential Sources of Healthcare Associated Infections? Global Pediatric Health |
| title | Are Stethoscopes, Coats, and Pagers Potential Sources of Healthcare Associated Infections? |
| title_full | Are Stethoscopes, Coats, and Pagers Potential Sources of Healthcare Associated Infections? |
| title_fullStr | Are Stethoscopes, Coats, and Pagers Potential Sources of Healthcare Associated Infections? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Are Stethoscopes, Coats, and Pagers Potential Sources of Healthcare Associated Infections? |
| title_short | Are Stethoscopes, Coats, and Pagers Potential Sources of Healthcare Associated Infections? |
| title_sort | are stethoscopes coats and pagers potential sources of healthcare associated infections |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/2333794X20969285 |
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