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International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences (IJCMAS)
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Original Research Articles                      Volume : 8, Issue:1, January, 2019

PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706
Issues : 12 per year
Publisher : Excellent Publishers
Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com /
submit@ijcmas.com
Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash
Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39
NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38

Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci.2019.8(1): 2472-2478
DOI: https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2019.801.261


The Role of Stethoscopes in the Transmission of Hospital Infections
Pratiksha Srivastava1, Atosh Tripathi1*, Priti Agrawal2, Dilshad Arif1, Satendra Pratap Singh1 and Anil Kumar1
1Department of Microbiology, Government Medical College & Super Facility Hospital, Azamgarh, U.P., India
2Department of Microbiology, SGT Medical College, Gurugram, Haryana, India
*Corresponding author
Abstract:

Among medical care equipments Stethoscope is one of the most frequently used device. Stethoscopes are mainly used by the health professionals for the assessment of the patients and have been reported to be one of the common vectors for the nosocomial infection in various parts of the world. The contamination of Stethoscope particularly the diaphragm is mainly reported due to the lack of regular disinfection. The objective of this study was Isolation and identification of the microorganisms responsible for nosocomial infection from the stethoscopes used by health care professionals and to know the antibiotic resistance pattern of the isolated microorganisms. The prospective study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology, Government Medical College, Azamgarh. Samples were collected from the 100 stethoscopes of the clinicians and other health care personnel working in the Government Medical College, Azamgarh. Swab samples were taken from the surface of the diaphragm of each 100 stethoscopes. Swabs were cultured onto appropriate culture media, biochemical tests were performed for identification and antibiotic susceptibility test was done to know the pattern of resistance and multi drug resistant isolates. Out of 100, 88 stethoscopes were found to be contaminated with different microorganisms. CONS was the most frequently isolated organism followed by S. aureus, Micrococci, Bacillus spp, Candida spp, Pseudomonas spp, Aspergillus spp and Enterobacter spp. Gram positive isolates showed resistance towards Gentamicin, Clindamycin and Erythromycin. It is necessary to disinfect the stethoscope after each use. This is the only way to prevent dissemination.


Keywords: Stethoscopes, Transmission, Hospital infections, S. aureus

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How to cite this article:

Pratiksha Srivastava, Atosh Tripathi, Priti Agrawal, Dilshad Arif, Satendra Pratap Singh and Anil Kumar. 2019. The Role of Stethoscopes in the Transmission of Hospital Infections.Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci. 8(1): 2472-2478. doi: https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2019.801.261
Copyright: This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

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