Stethoscope Sanitation

Stethoscopes are an item used by a variety of healthcare personnel throughout the hospital. Stethoscopes are essential to providing patient care but are often neglected. Stethoscopes have the potential to harbor microorganisms and spread infection among patients. One out of twenty-five patients will contract a hospital-acquired infection. In 2011, it was estimated that there was 722,000 hospital-acquired infections in the United States. 75,000 of these patients died from the hospital-acquired infection. Nurses have a massive role in Infection control and prevention. Although, handwashing is at the forefront for preventing infection, stethoscope disinfection also plays a huge role. Various studies have shown that stethoscopes have the potential to harbor bacteria such as MRSA and staphylococcus aureus. According to research, many healthcare professional do not disinfect their stethoscope after patient contact. According to a study performed in 2012, only 24.7% of healthcare workers report regular cleaning of their stethoscope (Hyder, 2012). There are various reasons for not practicing stethoscope hygiene but the most common reasons are lack of time and resources. According to a rural southern hospital, there is not a policy in play specifically addressing the disinfection of stethoscopes. Stethoscope disinfection should occur after contact with every patient, every time.