ArticleBMC infectious diseases2021
Prevalence of bacterial contamination of touchscreens and posterior surfaces of smartphones owned by healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Risk of surgical site infection associated with intraoperative smartphone use in a sterile cover during total knee arthroplasty.International orthopaedics · 2026Article
- High efficiency of 70% isopropanol in reducing microbial contamination on healthcare workers' smartphone surfaces: a pre-post study in Peru.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2026Article
- Insights into the mechanisms of infection transmission via inanimate surfaces.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- Exploring Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Positive Bacteria on Electronic Devices: A Comparative Experimental Study Based on the Gender of Healthcare and Nonhealthcare Workers.The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale · 2025Article
- Methods to assess antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral surfaces in relation to touch and droplet transfer: a review, gap-analysis and suggested approaches.Access microbiology · 2024Review
- An Overview of Polymer Composite Films for Antibacterial Display Coatings and Sensor Applications.Polymers · 2023Review
- 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
- Contamination by Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria on Cell Phones of Vendors in a Peruvian Market.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Article
- Fungal contamination of medical students' mobile phones from the University of Belgrade, Serbia: a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Review of microbial touchscreen contamination for the determination of reasonable ultraviolet disinfection doses.GMS hygiene and infection control · 2021Review
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMobile phones used by healthcare workers (HCWs) are contaminated with bacteria, but the posterior surface of smartphones has rarely been studied. The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of microbial contamination of touchscreens and posterior surfaces of smartphones owned by HCWs.
methodsA cross-sectional study of smartphones used by HCWs employed at two intensive care units at a Japanese tertiary care hospital was performed. Bacteria on each surface of the smartphones were isolated separately. The primary outcomes were the prevalence of microbial contamination on each surface of smartphones and associated bacterial species. Fisher's exact test was used to compare dichotomous outcomes.
resultsEighty-four HCWs participated in this study. The touchscreen and posterior surface were contaminated in 27 (32.1%) and 39 (46.4%) smartphones, respectively, indicating that the posterior surface was more frequently contaminated (p = 0.041). Bacillus species and coagulase-negative staphylococci were isolated from each surface of the smartphones.
conclusionsThe posterior surface of a smartphone was more significantly contaminated with bacteria than the touchscreen, regardless of having a cover. Therefore, routine cleaning of the posterior surface of a smartphone is recommended.
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