CINCINNATI (WKRC) – The next time your healthcare providers listens to your breathing or heart, you might want to ask about stethoscope hygiene.
While stethoscopes can be used to listen to your heart or breathing over clothing, it’s sometimes placed on unprotected skin. In certain settings then, this can raise the risk for transferring germs if the stethoscope isn’t disinfected between patients.
“You’re exactly right. We walk in the room, we wash our hands, and yet we take something on other people and lay it on your chest,” said Dr. Steve Feagins.
Feagins said while most providers know to wipe down a stethoscope with alcohol between patients, observational studies of healthcare providers now show that as few as one in five providers actually do that.
The stethoscope has now been associated with more healthcare associated infections, as well as spores, drug resistant bacteria, viruses and even an emerging resistant fungi such as candida auris.
The alcohol wipe down gets rid of some of these but not others, such as norovirus or a common hospital infection known as C. diff.
“We have these devices that look like ovens, many of you have these for your cell phones, and you put your stethoscopes in their prior to rounds and sometimes after rounds. That kills everything,” said Dr. Feagins.
Researchers are also looking into adding barrier protections for a stethoscope as part of standard infection control practice. That means, just like we protect hands and bodies with gloves or gowns, these barriers would protect against germs.