The study was conducted to determine bacterial contamination of
stethoscopes used by doctors before and after disinfecting with
isopropyl alcohol and analyze their practices of disinfecting
stethoscopes. Samples from
stethoscopes were taken before and after disinfecting with 70%
isopropyl alcohol swab with the help of a sterile swab. All swabs were inoculated on Blood and MacConkey
agar plates and were examined for growth.
Stethoscopes of 78 doctors were sampled which included 45 (58%) males and 33 (42%) females. Before decontamination of diaphragms with
isopropyl alcohol, 27 (34.6%) diaphragms had "growth" while 51 (65.4%) had "no growth." After decontamination with
isopropyl alcohol, 5 (6.4%) had "growth" while 73 (93.6%) had "no growth." The most common microorganism isolated from
stethoscopes' diaphragms was methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE), that is, 14 out of 78 (17.9%). The survey also evaluated factors associated with contamination of
stethoscopes. Most doctors 71(91%) believe that
stethoscopes can be a source of
infection and 55.1% (N = 43) responded that both diaphragm and bell of
stethoscopes can transmit
infections. Many doctors (41%, N = 32) reported that "forgetfulness/laziness" was the barrier which they faced regarding
stethoscope hygiene followed by "lack of time" (21.8%, N = 17). The contamination rate (66.6%) is highest in those doctors who are using their
stethoscopes for 3-5 years. Of them, 30 doctors (38.5%) never decontaminated their
stethoscopes among which 17 had growth in their
stethoscopes before cleaning with
isopropyl alcohol, while three had growth even after decontamination. Most doctors used sanitizer (29.5%) and
isopropyl alcohol (25.6%) as cleaning agents.