According to a new paper published in the American Journal of Infection Control, the CDC requires stethoscopes be cleaned after each use, or sooner if there is risk of contamination. However, the ubiquitous devices remain unclean much of the time, with reported compliance levels hovering around 30 percent, according to the study authors.
The researchers found that using chlorhexidine to disinfect stethoscopes, rather than alcohol, kept the scopes cleaner for longer. While they found no significant differences immediately post-cleaning between stethoscopes cleaned with chlorhexidine and those cleaned with alcohol, after a few hours, those disinfected with chlorhexidine were cleaner.
“Stethoscopes are an indispensable part of a physician’s equipment; therefore, they are among the most frequently used healthcare items,” the authors wrote. “However, the disinfection compliance of these instruments is low. Previous reports show that only 14 percent to 53 percent of healthcare workers regularly decontaminate their stethoscopes, and only 30 percent do it after each patient use, which is why stethoscopes become potential vectors for cross-contamination.”
They conclude that potential fixes such as disposable stethoscopes are not practical for hospitals on a budget, and it is necessary for providers to develop and adopt new asceptic cleaning strategies to mitigate stethoscope cross-contamination risk.
More articles on disinfection:
FDA orders scope manufacturers to study how devices are used in healthcare settings
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