Evaluación microbiológica en superficie de teléfonos celulares del personal de salud del área de clínica del Hospital José Carrasco Arteaga, Cuenca, período septiembre 2019 - febrero 2020

Abstract

Objective: To determine the bacterial contamination on the surface of the cell phones of the health personnel of the clinic area of the “José Carrasco Arteaga” hospital. Methodology: Non-experimental, observational, cross-sectional, descriptive research with a quantitative approach. The sample was 86 cell phones belonging to health personnel. The surface of the mobile was swabbed, culturing the sample in salted Mannitol agar and in EMB agar, isolating and identifying the bacteria by Gram staining; In addition, a knowledge, habits and attitudes questionnaire was applied; and the frequency of disinfection of the mobile. The data processing and analysis was performed with the statistical package SPSS version 22 and Microsoft Excel 2010. Results: 81.4% of phones are contaminated, 77.9% correspond to Gram positive bacteria (Stafilococcus spp) and 3.5% correspond to Gram negative bacteria (Enterobacteria). The percentage of doctors and nurses who usually disinfect their mobile every day is 48.8%. Conclusion: The surface of cell phones has a high presence of bacteria, so it is important to raise awareness among health professionals and promote preventive hygiene (disinfection) habits when using their mobile phones.