A new study suggests that doctors may not disinfect their stethoscopes causing you to get sick more often.
According to The Legal Examiner, a new study has been conducted by the University of Geneva and found that stethoscopes can pick up bacteria from one patients’ skin and can be easily transferred over to the next patient.
During the research, the study consisted of 71 patients who were administered to by one of three doctors. They used sterile gloves and a sterile tool to begin but once they were done seeing a patients’, two parts of the stethoscope were tested for bacteria.
After comparing the tool to the doctor’s hands, it turns out that the diaphragm and the tube of the stethoscope was more contaminated than most parts of the physicians’ hand.
The study concluded that the stethoscope should be taken into consideration and should also be thoroughly cleaned before its next use.
According to NPR, Didier Pittet, the director of infection control at University of Geneva Hospital in Switzerland and the study’s lead author, said, “Think of the stethoscopes an extension of the doctor’s hands, which are the main source of patient-to-patient bacterial transmission.”
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