A patient can contract the disease through an untreated stethoscope

Most patients have the opportunity to see how the doctor cleans his hands before the examination. But was the stethoscope cleaned after the previous patient?

Experts representing the Professional Association of Infection and Epidemiological Surveillance set out to answer this question. As a result, very interesting information was published, based on studies conducted in clinics in the United States.

Experts say that doctors only rarely disinfect their stethoscopes, and even then, not before every new patient. And this despite the fact that such a measure is considered necessary to prevent the development of hospital-acquired infectious diseases. According to the CDC's infection control instructions, all reusable instruments and devices, including stethoscopes, must be subject to mandatory disinfection.

"A stethoscope is used to examine patients dozens of times a day. The amount of various microorganisms that settle on it is potentially dangerous, as it can directly transmit infection. An untreated stethoscope poses a serious threat to health - no less than a doctor's untreated hands," says Linda Green, the head of APIC.

Thanks to the researchers' actions, a project to disinfect stethoscopes and prevent infectious diseases was launched at their suggestion. The specialists suggested regularly using alcohol-based solutions and wipes: it is important to start using them already from the student period.

The Association's employees are shocked that the overwhelming majority of medical workers completely ignore the very fact of the need to process such devices. Therefore, for many of them, processing a stethoscope has become an innovation.

Representatives of epidemiological control conducted educational work with medical specialists, during which they reminded them of the importance of processing instruments: such rules have existed for a long time, and no one has cancelled them.

Unfortunately, subsequent experiments conducted over the next few months indicated that the educational work had been largely ignored: stethoscopes continued to contain large numbers of bacteria.

"We are not authorized to force doctors to sanitize their devices. We can only state that today the overwhelming majority of doctors do not pay due attention to sanitizing their stethoscopes, thereby exposing people to considerable risk. It is necessary to fundamentally change the culture of medical workers, because otherwise the situation is unlikely to change. We are addressing the health department and focusing attention on this fact," says Dr. Green.

Experts point out that the most frequently found pathogenic microorganisms on the surface of a stethoscope were staphylococci, pseudomonads, clostridia, and antibiotic-resistant enterococci.