ArticlePloS one2017
Nasal colonization and bacterial contamination of mobile phones carried by medical staff in the operating room.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 74 citations in OpenAlex.
- Extended spectrum betalactamase and carbapenemase producing gram negative bacteria from mobile phones of healthcare workers at Debre Berhan Hospital, Ethiopia.Scientific reports · 2025Article
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- Hospital Hygiene Paradox: MRSA and Enterobacteriaceae Colonization Among Cleaning Staff in a Tertiary Hospital in Saudi Arabia.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Article
- Profiling and comprehensive analysis of microbiome and ARGs of nurses and nursing workers in China: a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Bacterial Contamination of Healthcare Students' Mobile Phones: Impact of Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), Users' Demographics and Device Characteristics on Bacterial Load.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Molecular Characterization ofMicroorganisms · 2022Article
- Antibiotic resistance pattern of methicillin-resistantThe Pan African medical journal · 2022Article
- Prevalence of bacterial contamination of touchscreens and posterior surfaces of smartphones owned by healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study.BMC infectious diseases · 2021Article
- Microbes on the Mobile Phones of Healthcare Workers in Palestine: Identification, Characterization, and Comparison.The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale · 2021Article
- Taking Screenshots of the Invisible: A Study on Bacterial Contamination of Mobile Phones from University Students of Healthcare Professions in Rome, Italy.Microorganisms · 2020Article
- Mobile phones in the orthopedic operating room: Microbial colonization and antimicrobial resistance.World journal of orthopedics · 2020Review
- Surgical Loupes Worn by Orthopaedic Surgeons Are a Reservoir for Microorganisms.Clinical orthopaedics and related research · 2019Article
- General Assembly, Prevention, Operating Room - Personnel: Proceedings of International Consensus on Orthopedic Infections.The Journal of arthroplasty · 2019Article
- Bacterial contamination of mobile phones of health professionals in Eastern Ethiopia: antimicrobial susceptibility and associated factors.Tropical medicine and health · 2019Article
- Degree of Bacterial Contamination of Mobile Phone and Computer Keyboard Surfaces and Efficacy of Disinfection with Chlorhexidine Digluconate and Triclosan to Its Reduction.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Article
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMobile phones (MPs) have been an essential part of the lives of healthcare professionals and have improved communication, collaboration, and sharing of information. Nonetheless, the widespread use of MPs in hospitals has raised concerns of nosocomial infections, especially in areas requiring the highest hygienic standards such as operating rooms (ORs). This study evaluated the incidence of bacterial contamination of the MPs carried by medical staff working in the OR and determined its association with bacterial colonization of this personnel.
methodsThis is an observational cohort study. Medical staffs working in the OR were asked to take bacterial cultures from their MPs, anterior nares, and dominant hands. To identify the relation between MP contamination and bacterial colonization of the medical staff, genotyping of Staphylococcus aureus (SA) was done via Staphylococcus protein A gene (spa) typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).
resultsA total of 216 swab samples taken from 72 medical-staff members were analyzed. The culture-positive rate was 98.1% (212/216). In 59 (27.3%) samples, the bacteria were possible clinical pathogens. The anterior nares were the most common site of colonization by clinical pathogens (58.3%, 42/72), followed by MPs (13.9%, 10/72) and the dominant hand (9.7%, 7/72). SA was the most commonly isolated clinical pathogen and was found in 43 (19.9%) samples. In 66 (94.3%) of the 70 staff members for whom bacteria were detected on their MPs, the same bacteria were detected in nares or hand. Among 31 medical staff who were carriers of SA in the anterior nares or dominant hand, 8 (25.8%) were found to have SA on their MPs, and genotyping confirmed the same SA strain in 7 (87.5%) of them.
conclusionA high rate of bacterial nasal colonization and MPs contamination were found among the OR medical staff. An MP may be a reservoir for pathogen contamination in the OR.
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