Year: 2024 | Month: July | Volume: 14 | Issue: 7 | Pages: 299-308
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20240740
Bacterial Colonization of Stethoscope used by Health Care Professionals at a Rural-Based Tertiary Care Hospital and Effective Measures for Its Disinfection
Dr. Nidhi Bhalodia1, Sara Arora2, Dr. Tanuja Javadekar3, Dr. Sucheta Lakhani4, Dr. Himani Pandya5
1Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, SBKSMI&RC Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Piparia, Vadodara
2Medical Student, 3rd Year MBBS, SBKSMI&RC, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Piparia, Vadodara
3Professor and Head, Department of Microbiology, SBKSMI&RC, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Piparia, Vadodara
4Professor, Department of Microbiology, SBKSMI&RC, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Piparia, Vadodara
5Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology, SBKSMI&RC, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Piparia, Vadodara
Corresponding Author: Dr. Nidhi Bhalodia
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Stethoscopes can be a potential source for transmission of infection among patients as it is most commonly used device by all health professionals. This study was conducted in a rural based tertiary care hospital to determine the growth of different types of pathogens from diaphragms of stethoscopes used by health care professionals and whether decontamination by 70% isopropyl alcohol will be effective in reducing bacterial load.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:
AIM: To detect presence of microorganisms on the diaphragm of stethoscope used by Health care workers.
OBJECTIVES:
1) To identify the types of organisms, present on stethoscopes.
2) To determine the effectiveness of 70% isopropyl alcohol as a disinfectant.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty stethoscopes of health care professionals of different departments were used for microbiological sampling. Further, the diaphragms of all the stethoscopes were cleaned with 70% isopropyl alcohol and were resampled to detect the effectiveness of 70% isopropyl alcohol as a disinfectant. Antibiotic sensitivity testing of pathogenic bacteria was carried out.
RESULTS: Out of randomly selected 50 stethoscopes from different clinical departments 35 stethoscopes (70%) showed significant bacterial growth. Out of the different organisms isolated, Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) 11 (22%) were predominantly found.
On cleaning with 70% isopropyl alcohol, there was a significant decrease in the colonization of organisms.
CONCLUSION: The findings of this study demonstrated that stethoscopes are colonized with pathogenic bacteria and use of 70% isopropyl alcohol can significantly reduce contamination and thus should be adopted as a regular practice.
Key words: Stethoscope,70% isopropyl alcohol, MRSA