Authors (including presenting author) :
Yung SK(1) Fong KM (1)Lai KC(2) Au SY(1),Tsang HH(3), Ling L(4),Ng WY(1), Leung KH(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Intensive Care Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital
(2)Department of Microbiology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital
(3)Intensive Care Unit, Kwong Wah Hospital
(4)Intensive Care Unit, Prince of Wales Hospital
Introduction :
Mobile phones have become an essential part of life and are not infrequently assessed during clinical care, for example to browse references or communicate with colleagues. While the use of mobile phones can improve patient care, they are also potential vehicles for spread of pathogenic organisms, which is particularly problematic among critically ill patients.
Objectives :
The objectives are to study the prevalence of contamination of ICU doctors’ mobile phones by multidrug resistant organisms (MDROs) and factors associated with increased risk of contamination by MDROs.
Methodology :
Doctors working in the Intensive Care Units of 3 hospitals (Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kwong Wah Hospital, Prince of Wales Hospital) were recruited. They filled in questionnaires about their demographics; pattern of usage and disinfection of mobile phones. Swabs (pre-moistened with normal saline) were taken from their mobile phones’ front and back surfaces and sent to the microbiology laboratory of Queen Elizabeth Hospital. These swabs were processed and inoculated on selective culture media for the detection of MDROs, namely Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE); multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDRA); methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); Vancomycin resistant Enterococcus (VRE).
Result & Outcome :
Forty-one ICU doctors with 44 mobile phones were sampled (1 doctor with 4 mobile phones). No MDROs were detected. Twelve doctors (29.3%) have never cleaned their phones while 5 (12.2%) cleaned with water. Others (58.5%) cleaned the mobile phones with alcohol or other disinfectants. Forty doctors (97.6%) reported using their phone during clinical duties. Mostly, personal mobiles were used to search information and carry out administrative work. Two doctors (4.9%) used protective coverage for the mobile phones. Twenty-eight (68.3%) believed that their mobile phones were contaminated by MDROs. Only 1 doctor (2.4%) supported banning the use of personal mobile phones at work.
Conclusions:
Use of personal mobile phones are common during clinical duties. None of the mobile phones sample were contaminated with MDROs, which could be related to good adherence to infection control measures.
