Table 1 Organisms isolated from bell, diaphragm and earpieces of stethoscope
Organisms | Number of isolates | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Bell | Diaphragm | Earpiece (left) | Earpiece (right) | |
Micrococcus species | 56 | 64 | 18 | 20 |
Coagulase negative staphylococci | 16 | 45 | 11 | 14 |
Bacillus species | 18 | 22 | 24 | 21 |
Diptheroids | 4 | 6 | – | – |
Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) | 6 | 15 | – | 4 |
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) | 10 | 11 | – | – |
Pseudomonas species | – | 6 | – | – |
Enterobacter species | – | 4 | – | – |
Escherichia coli | – | 3 | – | – |
Candida species | – | 2 | – | – |
Total no of isolates | 110 | 178 | 53 | 59 |
No growth on stethoscopes | 51 | 34 | 48 | 44 |
Growth on stethoscopes | 71 (58.1%) | 88 (72.1%) | 74 (60.6%) | 78 (63.9%) |