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Bacterial Contamination of Fabric Stethoscope Covers: The Velveteen Rabbit of Health Care?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Michael W. Milam ,
Melanie Hall ,
Teri Pringle  and
Kay Buchanan
Michael W. Milam*
Affiliation:
Infection Control Department, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, Sarasota, Florida
Melanie Hall
Affiliation:
Infection Control Department, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, Sarasota, Florida
Teri Pringle
Affiliation:
Infection Control Department, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, Sarasota, Florida
Kay Buchanan
Affiliation:
Infection Control Department, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, Sarasota, Florida
*
1425 S Osprey Ave, Suite 1, Sarasota, FL 3439
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Abstract

To determine if fabric stethoscope covers pose an infection control problem, we studied how they are cared for by our healthcare workers and performed microbiological investigations on 22 covers collected over a 3-week period. Our study suggests that fabric stethoscope covers represent a potential infection control problem because they are used for prolonged periods, are infrequently laundered, and are contaminated with bacteria.

Type
Concise Communications
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 22 , Issue 10 , October 2001 , pp. 653 - 655
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2001

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