Though doctors may disinfect their hands to prevent spreading illness, there may be another bacteria-ridden object they have on them that doesn't get the same cleaning treatment: their stethoscopes. A ...

Although healthcare workers' hands are the main source of bacterial transmission in hospitals, physicians' stethoscopes appear to play a role. To explore this question, investigators assessed the ...

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GENEVA, Switzerland, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- A physician's stethoscope is as full of germs as a physician's hands, and U.S. researchers suggest it should be cleaned after use on each patient. Lead ...

While stethoscopes can transmit the same germs as unclean hands, none of the doctors in a recent study bothered to clean them between patients. And that was the case even after an educational ...

The level of bacterial contamination on physicians' hands and stethoscopes following a single physical examination was assessed in a study by investigators at the University of Geneva Hospitals. The ...

Clinicians participating in a quality improvement pilot project failed to sanitize stethoscopes between patient interactions, even after educational interventions, according to a study published in ...

Abraham Verghese, an infectious disease specialist, says doctors would benefit from understanding that to every patient, illness is a story. His most recent book is the novel “Cutting for Stone.” ...

The humble stethoscope carried by physicians and other professionals in the intensive care unit (ICU) is laden with a wide range of bacteria, including bacteria known to cause infections acquired in ...

Stethoscopes can pick up bacteria directly from a patient's skin Doctors should disinfect their stethoscopes after every examination because the instruments are heavily contaminated by bacteria, a ...

Rochester, MN, February 27, 2014 – Although healthcare workers' hands are the main source of bacterial transmission in hospitals, physicians' stethoscopes appear to play a role. To explore this ...