Frequency of bacterial contamination on telephonic devices in hospital setting

Aim: to determine the frequency of bacterial contamination on telephonic devices. place and duration of study: this descriptive study was carried out in the children's hospital,lahore from july to december 2014. method: a total of 110 swab samples were taken from telephonic devices. sterile swabs were used for sample collection. the swabs were dampened in tsb (tryptic soya broth) and rotated on telephonic keypads,sides,mouth pieces as well as ear pieces of telephonic devices. these swabs were transported to the microbiology department for further processing. the organisms were identified by routine lab techniques and biochemical tests. results: a total of 72 micro organisms were isolated,among which 64 were gram positive bacteria while 8 were gram negative bacteria. coagulase negative staphylococci were the most commonly isolated bacteria from both cell phones and landlines. conclusion: telephonic devices present in hospital settings are heavily contaminated with various pathogens,which are responsible for the transmission of nosocomial infections. in order to reduce microbial contamination in these areas,there should be an increased focus on regular cleaning of mobile phones as well as landline phones used by health care professionals with alcohol. it is also advised that there should be proper hand washing after each use of telephones.