Microbial Contamination of Cell phones of Health Care Workers in the Orthopaedic Department at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital

Abstract

The role that fomites play in surgical site infection (SSI) and peri-prosthetic joint infection (PJI) has been observed and researched in the past. However, the role that cell phones play in the transfer of micro-organisms from hands to surgical sites and the indiscriminate use of cell phones within the orthopaedic environment, could increase the risk of infection. This study aimed to measure the contamination of cell phones of health care workers (HCWs) in a South African tertiary hospital. This was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted from the 6th June 2022 to 20th of June 2022. Samples were taken from the participant’s cell phones under aseptic techniques and sent for microbiological testing. The participants also filled out a questionnaire on cell phone behaviour. Included in the study were nurses and doctors on the orthopaedic theatres, wards and clinics. Sixty-two participants were included; 54 from the orthopaedic, seven from anaesthesia and one was not identified. From the samples taken 48/62 (75%) grew pathogens while 30/62 (48%) grew two or more colonies. This is slightly lower than other studies which showed contamination of up to 100%. Micro-organisms cultured included Staphylococcus species, Staphylococcus epidermidis, methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Cell phone hygiene behaviour was also better than most other studies in terms of frequency of cleaning the devices and hand hygiene around cell phone usage. This may be a contributing factor to the lower micro-organism contamination. We have identified that there are indeed pathogens on cell phones transferable to patients; that may lead sepsis. Though cell phones have become vital in patient management in the hospital setting, factors such as improvement in cell phone hygiene through education and frequent cleaning of cell phones will aid in disabling the negative impact of cell phones in the orthopaedic environment.