Prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus on the stethoscopes of emergency medical services providers

Prehospital Emergency Care : Official Journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
Mark A MerlinTimothy Fallon

Abstract

The investigation seeks to determine the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on the stethoscopes of emergency medical services (EMS) providers. While stethoscopes are known fomites for MRSA, the prevalence of MRSA in the prehospital setting is not well documented in the literature. This was a prospective, observational cohort study of 50 stethoscopes provided by consecutive, consenting EMS providers at our academic emergency department (ED). Stethoscopes were swabbed with saline culture applicators and samples were cultured on a commercial MRSA test kit containing mannitol salt agar with oxacillin. After 72 hours of incubation at 37 degrees C, two emergency physicians and one microbiologist analyzed the plates independently. MRSA colonization was recorded as positive if all three reviewers agreed that colonization had occurred. Of 50 stethoscopes, 16 had MRSA colonization, and 16 (32%) EMS professionals had no recollection of when their stethoscopes had been cleaned last. Reported length of time since last cleaning was grouped into six categories: one to seven days, eight to 14 days, 15 to 30 days, 31 to 180 days, 181 days to 365 days, and unknown. The median time frame reported since the last clean...Continue Reading

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Citations

Dec 2, 2009·Prehospital Emergency Care : Official Journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors·Joseph Elliot Rubin
Mar 27, 2012·Journal of Perianesthesia Nursing : Official Journal of the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses·Abigail RussellCarolyn Schreeder
Oct 5, 2011·The American Journal of Emergency Medicine·Barry J Knapp, Sara N Tsuchitani
Mar 23, 2011·Médecine et maladies infectieuses·L BadrikianO Traoré
Aug 10, 2010·The Journal of Hospital Infection·A MitchellM Narayanan
Oct 27, 2012·Prehospital Emergency Care : Official Journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors·Charles MiramontiMary Ann Kozak
Mar 4, 2014·Mayo Clinic Proceedings·Dennis G Maki
May 25, 2015·Annals of Emergency Medicine·Alexander IsakovRaymond Swansiger
Dec 17, 2011·Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology : the Official Journal of the Society of Hospital Epidemiologists of America·Ravy K VajraveluCurtis J Donskey
Jun 21, 2015·The Journal of Hospital Infection·N O'Flaherty, L Fenelon
Nov 5, 2016·American Journal of Infection Control·José A ÁlvarezJuan H Macias
Oct 22, 2016·Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology : the Official Journal of the Society of Hospital Epidemiologists of America·Nicholas HaunNasia Safdar
Jul 30, 2017·BMC Research Notes·Sangita Thapa, Lokendra Bahadur Sapkota
Dec 10, 2017·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·Andrew J HudsonHans-Joachim Wieden
Dec 18, 2020·Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology : the Official Journal of the Society of Hospital Epidemiologists of America·Diego SchapsDeverick J Anderson
Jan 26, 2021·International Journal of Microbiology·Sanjeep SapkotaRamesh Sharma Regmi

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