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Bacterial Contamination of Hospital Pagers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Deepjot Singh ,
Hanspreet Kaur ,
William G. Gardner  and
Lisa B. Treen
Deepjot Singh
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, Akron General Medical Center, Akron General Medical Center, Akron, andNortheastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown
Hanspreet Kaur
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, Akron General Medical Center, Akron General Medical Center, Akron, andNortheastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown
William G. Gardner*
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Akron General Medical Center, Akron, andNortheastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown
Lisa B. Treen
Affiliation:
Kenneth Calhoun Research Laboratory, Akron General Medical Center, Akron, Ohio
*
Department of Internal Medicine, Akron General Medical Center, 400 Wabash Avenue, Akron, OH 44307
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Abstract

We assessed the bacterial contamination of the pagers of healthcare personnel and the efficacy of disinfection with 70% isopropyl alcohol. Microorganisms were isolated from all pagers; 21% yielded Staphylococcus aureus, of which 14% were methicillin resistant. Cleaning with alcohol reduced the total colony count by an average of 94%. Bacterial load varied by healthcare worker group and service assignment.

Type
Concise Communications
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 23 , Issue 5 , May 2002 , pp. 274 - 276
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2002

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