Research Article
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Investigation of Bacterial Contamination on Cell Phones of Healthcare Workers

Year 2023, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, 32 - 39, 29.03.2023
https://doi.org/10.58854/jicm.1263158

Abstract

Objectives: Mobile phones are a necessity of our daily life and have an important place in the provision of health services. Mobile phones, which are widely used in hospitals by healthcare professionals, pose a risk for nosocomial infections, which are associated with high morbidity, mortality and increased hospitalization costs. In this study, it was aimed to examine the bacterial contamination on mobile phones of healthcare workers and to evaluate its relationship with mobile phone usage habits.

Methods: This study was carried out with 89 healthcare professionals working in different units of the hospital. A questionnaire questioning the phone usage habits of health workers was applied, and then microbiological analysis was carried out by taking swab samples from the cell phone surface of these people for culture purposes.

Results: The mean age of those included in the study was 35.8 ± 7.9 years. Reproduction was detected on mobile phones of 86 (96.6%) of those included in the study. Microorganism growth was observed in 71 (82.6%) of those who reproduced, which is considered as a member of the skin flora, and potential pathogenic microorganism growth was observed in the phones of the remaining 15 (17.4%). Methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus was found to be the most reproducing potential pathogen, followed by Acinetobacter baumannii. In the study, when those who wash their hands 10 or more times a day and those who wash their hands less than 10, those who do and do not clean their phones, and those who leave and do not leave their mobile phones in the working environment, there was a significant difference between the groups in terms of pathogen reproduction status on their mobile phones (p<0.001, p=0.001 and p<0.001, respectively).

Conclusion: Cell phones are a reservoir for microorganisms that can cause nosocomial infections. Mobile phone usage habits of healthcare professionals in patient service delivery should be reviewed and mobile phone usage guides should be developed in hospitals so that necessary precautions can be taken.

References

  • Al-Abdalall AHA. Isolation and identification of microbes associated with mobile phones in Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia. J Fam Community Med. 2010;17(1):11. https:// doi.org/10.4103/1319-1683.68783
  • Prgomet M, Georgiou A, Westbrook JI. The impact of mobile handheld technology on hospital physicians’ work practices and patient care: A systematic review. J Am Med Inf Assoc. 2009;16:792-801. https://doi. org/10.1197/jamia.M3215
  • Chang CH, Chen SY, Lu JJ, Chang CJ, Chang Y, Hsieh PH. Nasal colonization and bacterial contamination of mobile phones carried by medical staff in the operating room. PLoS One. 2017;12(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pone.0175811
  • Sepehri G, Talebizadeh N, Mirzazadeh A, Mir-Shekari TR, Sepehri E. Bacterial contamination and resistance to commonly used antimicrobials of healthcare workers’ mobile phones in teaching hospitals, Kerman, Iran. Am J Appl Sci. 2009;6(5):806- 810. https://doi.org/10.3844/ ajassp.2009.806.810
  • Riedel S, Morse SA, Mietzner TA, Miller S. Jawetz, Melnick & Adelberg’s Medical Microbiology. 28th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2019:617-22.
  • Olsen M, Nassar R, Senok A, Albastaki A, Leggett J, Lohning A, et al. A pilot metagenomic study reveals that community derived mobile phones are reservoirs of viable pathogenic microbes. Sci Rep. 2021;11(1):14102. https:// doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-93622-w
  • Okada J, Yamamizu Y, Fukai K. Effectiveness of hand hygiene depends on the patient›s health condition and care environment. Japan J Nurs Sci. 2016;13(4):413-23. https:// doi.org/10.1111/jjns.12122
  • Beer D, Vandermeer B, Brosnikoff C, Shokoples S, Rennie R, Forgie S. Bacterial contamination of health care workers› pagers and the efficacy of various disinfecting agents. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2006;25(11):1074-5. https://doi. org/10.1097/01.inf.0000242649.27400.94
  • Badr RI, Badr H ibrahim, Ali NM. Mobile phones and nosocomial infections. Int J Infect Control. 2012;8(2):2. https://doi. org/10.3396/ijic.v8i2.9933
  • Dar SH, Bashir G, Nisar Q, Majid I, Khandi MA. Microbial contamination on mobile phones of health-care workers at a tertiary care hospital of Northern India. Curr Med Issues. 2022;20:149-53. https://doi.org/10.4103/ cmi.cmi_22_22
  • Tusabe F, Kesande M, Amir A, Iannone O, Ayebare RR, Nanyondo J. Bacterial contamination of healthcare worker’s mobile phones: a case study at two referral hospitals in Uganda. Glob Secur Heal Sci Policy. 2022;7(1):1-6. https://doi.org/10.10 80/23779497.2021.2023321
  • Brady RR, Wasson A, Stirling I, McAllister C, Damani NN. Is your phone bugged? The incidence of bacteria known to cause nosocomial infection on healthcare workers› mobile phones. J Hosp Infect. 2006;62(1):123-5. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.jhin.2005.05.005
  • Jeske HC, Tiefenthaler W, Hohlrieder M, Hinterberger G, Benzer A. Bacterial contamination of anaesthetists› hands by personal mobile phone and fixed phone use in the operating theatre. Anaesthesia. 2007;62(9):904-6. https://doi. org/10.1111/j.1365-2044.2007.05172.x
  • Garcia RA, Spitzer ED, Beaudry J, Beck C, Diblasi R, Gilleeny-Blabac M, et al. Multidisciplinary team review of best practices for collection and handling of blood cultures to determine effective interventions for increasing the yield of true-positive bacteremias, reducing contamination, and eliminating false-positive central line associated bloodstream infections. Am J Infect Control. 2015;43(11):1222-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2015.06.030
  • Becker K, Heilmann C, Peters G. Coagulase negative staphylococci. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2014;27(4):870-926. https://doi. org/10.1128/CMR.00109-13
  • Shulman DS, Mehrotra P, Blonquist TM, Capraro A, Lehmann LE, Silverman LB, et al. A single institutional review of pediatric Bacillus spp. bloodstream infections demonstrates increased incidence among children with cancer. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2019;66(4):e27568. https://doi. org/10.1002/pbc.27568
  • Ramos ER, Hachem R, Youssef S, Fang X, Jiang Y, Raad I. The crucial role of catheters in micrococcal bloodstream infections in cancer patients. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2009;30(1): 83-85. https://doi. org/10.1086/592705
  • Sedighi I, Alikhani MY, Ramezani S, Nazari M, Nejad ASM. Bacterial contamination of mobile phones of health care providers in a teaching hospital in Hamadan Province, Iran. Arch Clin Infect Dis. 2015;10(2):365. https:// doi.org/10.5812/archcid.10(2)2015.22104
  • Heyba M, Ismaiel M, Alotaibi A, et al. Microbiological contamination of mobile phones of clinicians in intensive care units and neonatal care units in public hospitals in Kuwait. BMC Infect Dis. 2015; 15(1). https:// doi.org/10.1186/S12879-015-1172-9
  • Sakr A, Brégeon F, Mège JL, Rolain JM, Blin O. Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization: An update on mechanisms, epidemiology, risk factors, and subsequent ınfections. Front Microbiol. 2018;9:2419. https://doi. org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02419
  • Danelli T, Duarte FC, de Oliveira TA, da Silva RS, Frizon Alfieri D, Gonçalves GB, et al. Nasal carriage by Staphylococcus aureus among healthcare workers and students attending a university hospital in Southern Brazil: Prevalence, phenotypic, and molecular characteristics. Interdiscip Perspect Infect Dis. 2020;2020:3808036. https://doi. org/10.1155/2020/3808036
  • Oliveira J, Reygaert WC. Gram Negative Bacteria. [Updated 2022 Oct 8]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/ NBK538213/
  • Morubagal RR, Shivappa SG, Mahale RP, Neelambike SM. Study of bacterial flora associated with mobile phones of healthcare workers and non-healthcare workers. Iran J Microbiol. 2017;9(3):143-151.
  • Aiello AE, Coulborn RM, Perez V, Larson EL. Effect of hand hygiene on infectious disease risk in the community setting: a meta-analysis. Am J Public Health. 2008;98(8):1372-81. https://doi. org/10.2105/AJPH.2007.124610 2
  • llegranzi B, Conway L, Larson E, Pittet D. Status of the implementation of the World Health Organization multimodal hand hygiene strategy in United States of America health care facilities. Am J Infect Control. 2014;42(3):224-30. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.ajic.2013.11.015
  • Kapil R, Bhavsar HK, Madan M. Hand hygiene in reducing transient flora on the hands of healthcare workers: an educational intervention. Indian J Med Microbiol. 2015;33(1):125-8. https://doi. org/10.4103/0255-0857.148409
  • Bhumbla U, Ahmad S, Mathur D, Bandey L, Mathur G. Study on microbial contamination of mobile phones and their role in nosocomial infections in a tertiary hospital of south India. Asian J Pharm Clin Res. 2016; 9: 201- 202. https://doi.org/10.22159/ajpcr.2016. v9s3.14603
  • Bodena D, Teklemariam Z, Balakrishnan S, Tesfa T. Bacterial contamination of mobile phones of health professionals in Eastern Ethiopia: antimicrobial susceptibility and associated factors. Trop Med Health. 2019;47:15. https://doi.org/10.1186/ s41182-019-0144-y

Sağlık Çalışanlarının Cep Telefonlarındaki Bakteriyel Kontaminasyonun Araştırılması

Year 2023, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, 32 - 39, 29.03.2023
https://doi.org/10.58854/jicm.1263158

Abstract

Amaç: Cep telefonları günlük yaşantımızın bir ihtiyacı olup, sağlık hizmeti sunumunda da önemli bir yere sahiptir. Sağlık çalışanları tarafından hastanede yaygın kullanılan cep telefonları, yüksek morbidite, mortalite ve artan hastaneye yatış maliyetleri ile ilişkilendirilen nozokomiyal enfeksiyonlar için risk oluşturmaktadır. Bu çalışmada sağlık çalışanlarının cep telefonlarındaki bakteriyel kontaminasyonun incelenmesi ve cep telefonu kullanım alışkanlıklarıyla olan ilişkisinin değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır.

Yöntem: Bu çalışma hastanenin farklı birimlerinde görevli 89 sağlık çalışanı ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Sağlık çalışanlarına telefon kullanım alışkanlıklarını sorgulayan anket uygulanmış, sonrasında bu kişilerin cep telefonu yüzeyinden kültür amacıyla sürüntü örneği alınarak mikrobiyolojik analiz gerçekleştirilmiştir.

Bulgular: Çalışmaya dahil edilenlerin yaş ortalaması 35.8 ± 7.9 yıl olarak bulunmuştur. Çalışmaya alınanların 86’sının (%96.6) cep telefonunda üreme saptanmıştır. Üreme olanların 71’inde (%82.6) deri flora üyesi olarak kabul edilen mikroorganizma üremesi olduğu gözlenmiş, kalan 15 (%17.4) kişinin telefonunda ise potansiyel patojen mikroorganizma üremesi olmuştur. Potansiyel patojen mikroorganizma olarak en fazla üreyen etkenin Metisiline duyarlı Staphylococcus aureus olduğu görülmüş, onu Acinetobacter baumannii takip etmiştir. Çalışmada günde 10 ve üstünde el yıkayanlar ile 10’un altında el yıkayanlar, telefon temizliği yapanlar ve yapmayanlar ve çalışma ortamına cep telefonunu bırakanlar ve bırakmayanlar karşılaştırıldığında, cep telefonunda patojen üreme durumu açısından gruplar arasında anlamlı farklılık izlenmiştir (sırasıyla p<0.001, p=0.001 ve p<0.001).

Sonuç: Cep telefonları nozokomiyal enfeksiyonlara sebep olabilecek mikroorganizmalar için bir rezervuar konumundadır. Sağlık çalışanlarının hasta hizmeti sunumunda cep telefonu kullanım alışkanlıkları gözden geçirilmeli ve gerekli tedbirlerin alınabilmesi için hastanelerde cep telefonu kullanım rehberleri geliştirilmelidir.

References

  • Al-Abdalall AHA. Isolation and identification of microbes associated with mobile phones in Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia. J Fam Community Med. 2010;17(1):11. https:// doi.org/10.4103/1319-1683.68783
  • Prgomet M, Georgiou A, Westbrook JI. The impact of mobile handheld technology on hospital physicians’ work practices and patient care: A systematic review. J Am Med Inf Assoc. 2009;16:792-801. https://doi. org/10.1197/jamia.M3215
  • Chang CH, Chen SY, Lu JJ, Chang CJ, Chang Y, Hsieh PH. Nasal colonization and bacterial contamination of mobile phones carried by medical staff in the operating room. PLoS One. 2017;12(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pone.0175811
  • Sepehri G, Talebizadeh N, Mirzazadeh A, Mir-Shekari TR, Sepehri E. Bacterial contamination and resistance to commonly used antimicrobials of healthcare workers’ mobile phones in teaching hospitals, Kerman, Iran. Am J Appl Sci. 2009;6(5):806- 810. https://doi.org/10.3844/ ajassp.2009.806.810
  • Riedel S, Morse SA, Mietzner TA, Miller S. Jawetz, Melnick & Adelberg’s Medical Microbiology. 28th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2019:617-22.
  • Olsen M, Nassar R, Senok A, Albastaki A, Leggett J, Lohning A, et al. A pilot metagenomic study reveals that community derived mobile phones are reservoirs of viable pathogenic microbes. Sci Rep. 2021;11(1):14102. https:// doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-93622-w
  • Okada J, Yamamizu Y, Fukai K. Effectiveness of hand hygiene depends on the patient›s health condition and care environment. Japan J Nurs Sci. 2016;13(4):413-23. https:// doi.org/10.1111/jjns.12122
  • Beer D, Vandermeer B, Brosnikoff C, Shokoples S, Rennie R, Forgie S. Bacterial contamination of health care workers› pagers and the efficacy of various disinfecting agents. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2006;25(11):1074-5. https://doi. org/10.1097/01.inf.0000242649.27400.94
  • Badr RI, Badr H ibrahim, Ali NM. Mobile phones and nosocomial infections. Int J Infect Control. 2012;8(2):2. https://doi. org/10.3396/ijic.v8i2.9933
  • Dar SH, Bashir G, Nisar Q, Majid I, Khandi MA. Microbial contamination on mobile phones of health-care workers at a tertiary care hospital of Northern India. Curr Med Issues. 2022;20:149-53. https://doi.org/10.4103/ cmi.cmi_22_22
  • Tusabe F, Kesande M, Amir A, Iannone O, Ayebare RR, Nanyondo J. Bacterial contamination of healthcare worker’s mobile phones: a case study at two referral hospitals in Uganda. Glob Secur Heal Sci Policy. 2022;7(1):1-6. https://doi.org/10.10 80/23779497.2021.2023321
  • Brady RR, Wasson A, Stirling I, McAllister C, Damani NN. Is your phone bugged? The incidence of bacteria known to cause nosocomial infection on healthcare workers› mobile phones. J Hosp Infect. 2006;62(1):123-5. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.jhin.2005.05.005
  • Jeske HC, Tiefenthaler W, Hohlrieder M, Hinterberger G, Benzer A. Bacterial contamination of anaesthetists› hands by personal mobile phone and fixed phone use in the operating theatre. Anaesthesia. 2007;62(9):904-6. https://doi. org/10.1111/j.1365-2044.2007.05172.x
  • Garcia RA, Spitzer ED, Beaudry J, Beck C, Diblasi R, Gilleeny-Blabac M, et al. Multidisciplinary team review of best practices for collection and handling of blood cultures to determine effective interventions for increasing the yield of true-positive bacteremias, reducing contamination, and eliminating false-positive central line associated bloodstream infections. Am J Infect Control. 2015;43(11):1222-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2015.06.030
  • Becker K, Heilmann C, Peters G. Coagulase negative staphylococci. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2014;27(4):870-926. https://doi. org/10.1128/CMR.00109-13
  • Shulman DS, Mehrotra P, Blonquist TM, Capraro A, Lehmann LE, Silverman LB, et al. A single institutional review of pediatric Bacillus spp. bloodstream infections demonstrates increased incidence among children with cancer. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2019;66(4):e27568. https://doi. org/10.1002/pbc.27568
  • Ramos ER, Hachem R, Youssef S, Fang X, Jiang Y, Raad I. The crucial role of catheters in micrococcal bloodstream infections in cancer patients. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2009;30(1): 83-85. https://doi. org/10.1086/592705
  • Sedighi I, Alikhani MY, Ramezani S, Nazari M, Nejad ASM. Bacterial contamination of mobile phones of health care providers in a teaching hospital in Hamadan Province, Iran. Arch Clin Infect Dis. 2015;10(2):365. https:// doi.org/10.5812/archcid.10(2)2015.22104
  • Heyba M, Ismaiel M, Alotaibi A, et al. Microbiological contamination of mobile phones of clinicians in intensive care units and neonatal care units in public hospitals in Kuwait. BMC Infect Dis. 2015; 15(1). https:// doi.org/10.1186/S12879-015-1172-9
  • Sakr A, Brégeon F, Mège JL, Rolain JM, Blin O. Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization: An update on mechanisms, epidemiology, risk factors, and subsequent ınfections. Front Microbiol. 2018;9:2419. https://doi. org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02419
  • Danelli T, Duarte FC, de Oliveira TA, da Silva RS, Frizon Alfieri D, Gonçalves GB, et al. Nasal carriage by Staphylococcus aureus among healthcare workers and students attending a university hospital in Southern Brazil: Prevalence, phenotypic, and molecular characteristics. Interdiscip Perspect Infect Dis. 2020;2020:3808036. https://doi. org/10.1155/2020/3808036
  • Oliveira J, Reygaert WC. Gram Negative Bacteria. [Updated 2022 Oct 8]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/ NBK538213/
  • Morubagal RR, Shivappa SG, Mahale RP, Neelambike SM. Study of bacterial flora associated with mobile phones of healthcare workers and non-healthcare workers. Iran J Microbiol. 2017;9(3):143-151.
  • Aiello AE, Coulborn RM, Perez V, Larson EL. Effect of hand hygiene on infectious disease risk in the community setting: a meta-analysis. Am J Public Health. 2008;98(8):1372-81. https://doi. org/10.2105/AJPH.2007.124610 2
  • llegranzi B, Conway L, Larson E, Pittet D. Status of the implementation of the World Health Organization multimodal hand hygiene strategy in United States of America health care facilities. Am J Infect Control. 2014;42(3):224-30. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.ajic.2013.11.015
  • Kapil R, Bhavsar HK, Madan M. Hand hygiene in reducing transient flora on the hands of healthcare workers: an educational intervention. Indian J Med Microbiol. 2015;33(1):125-8. https://doi. org/10.4103/0255-0857.148409
  • Bhumbla U, Ahmad S, Mathur D, Bandey L, Mathur G. Study on microbial contamination of mobile phones and their role in nosocomial infections in a tertiary hospital of south India. Asian J Pharm Clin Res. 2016; 9: 201- 202. https://doi.org/10.22159/ajpcr.2016. v9s3.14603
  • Bodena D, Teklemariam Z, Balakrishnan S, Tesfa T. Bacterial contamination of mobile phones of health professionals in Eastern Ethiopia: antimicrobial susceptibility and associated factors. Trop Med Health. 2019;47:15. https://doi.org/10.1186/ s41182-019-0144-y
There are 28 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language Turkish
Subjects Clinical Sciences
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Ufuk Akbayırlı

Publication Date March 29, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Volume: 8 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Akbayırlı, U. (2023). Sağlık Çalışanlarının Cep Telefonlarındaki Bakteriyel Kontaminasyonun Araştırılması. Journal of Immunology and Clinical Microbiology, 8(1), 32-39. https://doi.org/10.58854/jicm.1263158
AMA Akbayırlı U. Sağlık Çalışanlarının Cep Telefonlarındaki Bakteriyel Kontaminasyonun Araştırılması. J Immunol Clin Microbiol. March 2023;8(1):32-39. doi:10.58854/jicm.1263158
Chicago Akbayırlı, Ufuk. “Sağlık Çalışanlarının Cep Telefonlarındaki Bakteriyel Kontaminasyonun Araştırılması”. Journal of Immunology and Clinical Microbiology 8, no. 1 (March 2023): 32-39. https://doi.org/10.58854/jicm.1263158.
EndNote Akbayırlı U (March 1, 2023) Sağlık Çalışanlarının Cep Telefonlarındaki Bakteriyel Kontaminasyonun Araştırılması. Journal of Immunology and Clinical Microbiology 8 1 32–39.
IEEE U. Akbayırlı, “Sağlık Çalışanlarının Cep Telefonlarındaki Bakteriyel Kontaminasyonun Araştırılması”, J Immunol Clin Microbiol, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 32–39, 2023, doi: 10.58854/jicm.1263158.
ISNAD Akbayırlı, Ufuk. “Sağlık Çalışanlarının Cep Telefonlarındaki Bakteriyel Kontaminasyonun Araştırılması”. Journal of Immunology and Clinical Microbiology 8/1 (March 2023), 32-39. https://doi.org/10.58854/jicm.1263158.
JAMA Akbayırlı U. Sağlık Çalışanlarının Cep Telefonlarındaki Bakteriyel Kontaminasyonun Araştırılması. J Immunol Clin Microbiol. 2023;8:32–39.
MLA Akbayırlı, Ufuk. “Sağlık Çalışanlarının Cep Telefonlarındaki Bakteriyel Kontaminasyonun Araştırılması”. Journal of Immunology and Clinical Microbiology, vol. 8, no. 1, 2023, pp. 32-39, doi:10.58854/jicm.1263158.
Vancouver Akbayırlı U. Sağlık Çalışanlarının Cep Telefonlarındaki Bakteriyel Kontaminasyonun Araştırılması. J Immunol Clin Microbiol. 2023;8(1):32-9.

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