Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/571945
40 INFECTION PREVENTION / HAND HYGIENE Your Mobile Phone May Be 'Patient Zero' for Hospital Infections By Max Green I nfection preventionists, hospital staff and clinicians search high and low for weak spots in hospital-setting disinfection and cleanliness, but may need to focus more on what's in their own pockets, according to new research. In a paper published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, Australian researchers sought to investigate the potential role mobile phones play as reservoirs for infection and bacterial colonization in the hospital setting. Here are seven things to know about the research. 1. e researchers screened a group of 226 staff members comprising 146 physicians and 80 medical students at a regional Australian hospital between January 2013 and March 2014. 2. ey concluded that 74 percent of staff members' mobile phones were contaminated with bacteria, of which 5 percent was deemed potentially harmful. 3. Similar organisms were found on the dominant hands of staff members. 4. Junior medical staff members were found to be at greater risk for heavy microbial growth. 5. Of the 226 participants, 31 percent reported cleaning their phones routinely. 6. Of those who cleaned their phones, only 21 percent reported using wipes containing alcohol. 7. e researchers concluded that disinfection guidelines for cell phone use in hospitals should be developed and implemented. n Cleveland Clinic Calls Out Infection Control Risk of Germy Cell Phones By Heather Punke P hysicians, nurses and other caregiv- ers are constantly thinking about infection risks and keeping a clean environment for patients — and, like most people, are likely to use cell phones on a daily basis. "Even with the ample awareness that nurses and other caregivers have regarding our potential to be a source of infection, almost every one of us carries a host of pos- sible infection-causing germs in our pockets on a daily basis," according to a post on Consult QD, a blog for healthcare profes- sionals from Cleveland Clinic. That item? Cell phones. A 2008 study cited in the blog post found that cell phones harbor 18 times more bac- teria than a toilet handle. To help prevent the spread of infection from these germ-carrying havens, the Cleve- land Clinic "aim[s] to remind our nurses and other caregivers to take time at least once a day to wipe down personal devices to re- move any visible fingerprints with a damp cloth," according to the post. To remove the threat entirely, the system encourages nurses to not bring personal devices into clinical workspaces at all. n