title: Bacterial contamination of fabric stethoscope covers: the velveteen rabbit of health care?
abstract: To determine if fabric stethoscope covers pose an infection control problem, we studied how they are cared for by our healthcare workers and performed microbiological investigations on 22 covers collected over a 3-week period. Our study suggests that fabric stethoscope covers represent a potential infection control problem because they are used for prolonged periods, are infrequently laundered, and are contaminated with bacteria.
authors.affiliation: Infection Control Department, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Milam
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pringle
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Buchanan
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D004865:Equipment and Supplies, Hospital / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods; D010564:Personnel, Hospital; D013045:Species Specificity; D019023:Stethoscopes / Q000382:microbiology*; D013784:Textiles / Q000382:microbiology*; D014481:United States