Pagers and stethoscopes as vehicles of potential nosocomial pathogens in a tertiary care hospital in a developing country

Abstract

It has long been recognized that stethoscopes and other inanimate objects carry virulent micro-organisms that can cause nosocomial infections in susceptible patients. Among the frequently used items in hospitals are pagers and stethoscopes. The manner in which these items are used has the potential to cause colonization of bacteria and transfer of these bacteria to another person. This prospective study was performed in order to assess the colonization rates among randomly selected pagers and stethoscopes. We found that 15 (25%) pagers and 11 (27.5%) stethoscopes were contaminated. Enterococci (10%) were the most common isolates found followed by Staphylococci (8%) and Enterobacteriaceae (7%). There was no significant difference in the rates of colonization between shared and personal pagers (P = 0.16). Stethoscopes were more likely to be contaminated with Enterococci compared to pagers (P = 0.013, 95% confidence interval 1.3-52.9). Our findings confirm the need for protocols to prevent transmission of infection through inanimate objects.