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| Technological Terror: Mobile Phones Carrying Resistant Bacteria? |
A recent study published in AJIC assessed bacterial colonization on the mobile phones used by patients, patients' companions, visitors, and health care worker. Significantly higher rates of pathogens (39.6% vs 20.6%, respectively; P = .02) were found on the mobile phones of patients' (n = 48) versus the HCWs' (n = 12). There were also more multidrug pathogens in the patents' mobile phones. These includied methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella spp, high-level aminoglycoside-resistant Enterococcus spp, and carabepenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumanii. The authors suggest that mobile phones of patients, patients' companions, and visitors represent higher risk for nosocomial pathogen colonization than those of HCWs.
The inanimate environment is teeming with pathogens so this finding is not so surprising. Unless the colonized phone of a patient or visitor travels from room to room and comes into contact with other patients or HCWs, then the risk of cross transmission is small.
Short of banning phones or insisting that they be wiped down with chlorhexidine upon entry and exit of a patient room, what else can be done? Should the phone don gloves too by inserting it into an examination glove?
