Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jun 23:2020:5872929.
doi: 10.1155/2020/5872929. eCollection 2020.

Bacteriological Study of Electronic Devices Used by Healthcare Workers at Ruhengeri Referral Hospital

Thierry Habyarimana  1 , Christelle Uwizeye  1 , Emmanuel Munyeshyaka  1 , Cedrick Izere  1 , Joseph Mucumbitsi  1 , Callixte Yadufashije  1
Affiliations

Bacteriological Study of Electronic Devices Used by Healthcare Workers at Ruhengeri Referral Hospital

Thierry Habyarimana et al. Biomed Res Int. .

Abstract

Electronic devices have become one of the most essential accessories being used in hospitals. Those devices increase the communication and contact making healthcare delivery more efficient and quality service oriented. The study was designed to collect reliable information about the spreading of pathogens through electronic devices especially in sensitive departments. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the bacterial colonization of electronic devices and determine the effectiveness of disinfection with alcohol 70% (w/v) to reduce the bacterial colonization of electronic devices. It was a cross-sectional study where samples were collected by means of moistened swabs in sterile saline solution from 30 electronic devices used by healthcare workers at Ruhengeri Referral Hospital within four different units: maternity, neonathology, intensive care, and theater room. To evaluate the effects of disinfection using 70% isopropyl alcohol, the second sample collection was carried out after decontamination with 70% isopropyl alcohol. Samples were analyzed in the microbiology lab of INES-Ruhengeri. The result showed that Staphylococcus aureus was the most predominant with 22.5%. Lactobacillus and Citrobacter spp. were 12.5%; Pseudomonas aeruginosa, coagulase-negative Staphylococci, and Serratia marcescens were 10%; Escherichia coli was 7.5%; Klebsiella spp. and Providencia spp. were at 5%. The lowest prevalence was 2.5% of Enterobacter spp. and Salmonella spp. The threat of dissemination of isolated microorganisms is valid, since all devices evaluated in this study showed bacterial contamination of species associated to hospital-acquired infections. Special care should be taken when using electronic devices in healthcare settings in addition to disinfection to reduce the risk of transmission of bacterial agents. Further studies should evaluate the antibiotic susceptibility for better conclusive results since all isolated bacteria in this study were subjected to high resistance and were associated with nosocomial infections.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Bacterial frequency in collected samples from electronic devices.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Types of bacteria isolated from electronic devices based on departments.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Percentage of isolated bacteria based on electronic devices.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Ramesh J., Carter A. O., Campbell M. H., et al. Use of mobile phones by medical staff at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Barbados: evidence for both benefit and harm. Journal of Hospital Infection. 2008;70(2):160–165. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2008.06.007. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hill C., King T., Day R. A strategy to reduce MRSA colonization of stethoscopes. Journal of Hospital Infection. 2006;62(1):122–123. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2005.03.013. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mohammadi-Sichani M. Bacterial contamination of healthcare workers’ mobile phones and efficacy of surface decolonization techniques. African Journal of Microbiology Research. 2011;5(30) doi: 10.5897/ajmr11.1062. - DOI
    1. Badr R. I., Badr H. I., Ali N. M. Mobile phones and nosocomial infections. International Journal of Infection Control. 2012;8(2):5–9. doi: 10.3396/ijic.v8i2.014.12. - DOI
    1. Haque M., Sartelli M., McKimm J., Abu Bakar M. B. Health care-associated infections – an overview. Infection and Drug Resistance. 2018;Volume 11:2321–2333. doi: 10.2147/IDR.S177247. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources