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Researchers conducting a study at a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) intensive care unit (ICU) in Sao Paulo, Brazil, warned that infection control guidelines must include a universal policy to regarding the disinfection of mobile phones in a hospital environment.
A team from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, conducted a cross-sectional study at the ICU to investigate the knowledge of healthcare professionals on the cross-contamination of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the agent responsible for COVID -19.
Although most workers understood the significance of cross-transmission and the importance of adhering to hand hygiene and cell phone disinfection practices, SARS-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid (RNA) – the genetic material of the virus – was still detected on some devices, say Evelyn Patricia Sanchez Espinoza and colleagues.
Researchers say the discovery that healthcare workers’ cell phones may be contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 suggests these devices could be part of the transmission chain in healthcare facilities.
“Implementation of official hospital policies to guide healthcare professionals [healthcare workers] regarding the disinfection and care of the personal MP [mobile phones] they are needed, “warns the team.
A pre-printed version of the card is available on the medRxiv* server while the article is peer reviewed.
Concerns about cell phones in hospitals
Espinoza and colleagues say the cell phone is now commonly considered a work tool in the hospital setting.
However, although SARS-CoV-2 has been detected on cell phones belonging to patients with COVID-19, the devices have not been reported as a potential source of transmission in the hospital setting.
At the same time, concerns about SARS-CoV-2 cross-transmission are growing, following recent descriptions of how the virus can persist on surfaces in the hospital setting, the team says.
“However, there are no official Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) policies on this [mobile phone] disinfection in health facilities, ”the researchers write. “Little is known [the] virus on parliamentarians or its potential for cross-contamination. “
Investigate the knowledge of health professionals on the risk of cell phones
Espinoza and colleagues set out to investigate health workers’ knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 cross-transmission and whether they understood its potential to persist on their cell phones and be part of the transmission train.
They conducted a cross-sectional study involving staff members working in the adult intensive care unit of a São Paulo university hospital.
The ICU has 11 separate rooms for individual patients. Healthcare professionals use scrubs, N95 respirators, and surgical caps as standard while working inside the unit, and also wear a surgical gown, face shield, and gloves if entering the patient room.
At the start of the pandemic, an education campaign on SARS-CoV-2 cross-transmission and cell phone disinfection took place.
“Information posters were left in the unit that had a QR code with access to a video of the campaign,” said Espinoza and the team.
In the video, healthcare workers were advised to use 70% alcohol swabs to clean the phones and a screen protector to keep the oil-repellent coating. They were also advised to avoid using the devices while providing patient care and while they were in the bathroom.
Ten days after the campaign took place, the researchers took swabs from the participants’ phones and sent them for SARS-CoV-2 testing by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
An electronic questionnaire on hand hygiene and the use and disinfection of mobile phones was also administered.
What did the study find?
Although most healthcare professionals have understood the importance of cross-transmission and increased their adherence to hand hygiene and cell phone disinfection during the pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 RNA has still been detected on two of the devices.
Fifty-one of the fifty-three staff members working in the unit participated in the survey and answered the questionnaire. Nine (18%) had covered the phone with kitchen plastic film in an attempt to facilitate disinfection. Eleven (16%) said they did not remember the campaign and three (6%) said they did not change their behavior.
Only four (8%) of healthcare workers did not believe the virus could persist on cell phones and only one (4%) did not believe it could persist on hands.
Ninety-eight percent of participants said they washed their hands more since the start of the pandemic.
Out of fifty-one swabs collected from cell phones, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected by RT-PCR on two devices.
A universal policy is needed regarding the care of electronic devices in hospitals
Espinoza and colleagues say the results show that healthcare workers’ cell phones can be contaminated with SARS-CoV-2.
“So, it is possible parliamentarians [medical professionals] it may be part of the virus transmission chain in health care facilities, “they write.
“Our findings suggest the need for a universal policy in infection control guidelines on how to care for electronic devices in the hospital,” the team concludes.
*Important Notice
medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be considered conclusive, guide clinical practice / health-related behavior, or treated as consolidated information.
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