O-38 Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Stethoscope Hygiene and Microbial Contamination of Stethoscopes at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, Guyana

Methods: This cross-sectional, experimental study surveyed 100 participants (50 doctors and 50 medical students) and sampled their 100 non-duplicate stethoscopes. A piloted questionnaire was used to ascertain whether there were any significant differences between doctors and medical students with respect to their KAP about stethoscope hygiene. Various microbiological tests were used to determine the microbial load and presence of MRSA on the stethoscopes.

Results: The mean bacterial load of stethoscopes belonging to medical students was significantly higher when compared to doctors (p=0.005). Additionally, 8 stethoscopes were contaminated with MRSA and these were mostly from medical students. All participants had excellent knowledge of the spread of nosocomial pathogens and the role of stethoscopes in transmission. However, only half of the participants acknowledged cleaning their stethoscopes after each patient. Furthermore, time constraints (27%), complacency over time (20%) and too many patients (17%) were the common reasons why stethoscopes were not cleaned frequently.

Conclusion: Medical students and doctors at GPHC possess excellent knowledge on transmission but they do not adequately clean their stethoscopes. This can increase the risk of microbial transmission, which has a negative impact for the patient and an additional economic cost to the hospital. Management and curriculum developers should use this study as an impetus to introduce rigorous quality assurance and infection control training.