Effectiveness and feasibility of using a physical barrier device in reducing rates of microbial contamination of sphygmomanometer cuffs

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 241-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nitin Bhanot ◽  
Sriharsha Rao ◽  
Shobha Sharma ◽  
Edmond S Malka ◽  
Monica Ghitan ◽  
...  

phygmomanometers are frequently contaminated with bacteria and are implicated in the transmission of microbes. A pilot study was conducted to determine the effectiveness and feasibility of using a physical barrier device in reducing rates of microbial contamination of sphygmomanometer cuffs. Blood pressure recordings were made with and without a disposable plastic device on healthy individuals to ensure that it did not interfere with the accuracy of readings. Baseline rates of microbial colonisation of sphygmomanometer cuffs were obtained over a six week period. For six weeks the device was applied to patients’ arms before measuring blood pressure, and sphygmomanometer cuffs were recultured during the intervention period. No difference was found in blood pressure recordings with and without the device. No difference in rates of bacterial contamination was observed during the intervention phase of the study. A disposable plastic device acting as a physical barrier may not reduce surface contamination of sphygmomanometer cuffs.

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-51
Author(s):  
Suha S Hassan ◽  
Nidhal H. Ghaib ◽  
Batool H Al-Ghurabi

Background: The microorganisms can impend the life of health care professional and particularly the dental practitioners. They can be transmitted by different ways like airborne and droplet transmission. The current study was carried out to identify whether the arch wires that received from the manufactures are free from microbial contamination and to determine the bacterial species attached to the arch wires. Materials and Methods: This study involved eighty samples, consisted of two types of arch wires (nitinol and stainless-steel) from four companies (3M, G&H, Jiscop, OrthoTechnology). These wires inserted in a plane tube that contains 10 -ml of (Tris [tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane] and EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) tris-EDTA and brain heart infusion (BHI) broth. A 0.1 ml was withdrawn from the tube and spread on agar plates. The control groups consist of 16 plane tube (8 tubes with tris-EDTA and other 8 tubes with (BHI). Results: Microbial sampling yielded growth from 5 of the 80 arch wires. The predominant bacteria that isolated were Bacillus spp. No growth was recovered from 75 of the samples and from controls. The bacteria were isolated by BHI reagent and no growth was observed by tris-EDTA reagent with statistically significant difference (P<0.05). The Bacillus spp. found only in the G&H and Jiscop companies, however, no statistically significant difference was found among them (P>0.05). With regard to the presence and distribution of bacteria according to the types of wires, the present results clarified that cases of contamination with Bacillus spp. were found in the nitinol arch wires with statistically significant difference (P<0.05). Conclusions: The results of the current study revealed low count of bacterial contamination in the two types of companies (G&H and Jiscop). Not all materials that received from the manufactures are free from contamination and an effective sterilization regimen is needed to avoid cross-contamination.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 496-499
Author(s):  
Buchineni Madhavulu ◽  
Pathapati Rama Mohan ◽  
, Devaraju Sreebhushan Raju

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. e235-e236
Author(s):  
D. Papadopoulos ◽  
E. Sanidas ◽  
D. Perrea ◽  
H. Grassos ◽  
C. Liakos ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Mardones ◽  
Pilar Arnaiz ◽  
Johana Soto-Sánchez ◽  
Juana Saavedra ◽  
Angélica Domínguez ◽  
...  

AbstractThis paper describes a 4-month pilot study that tested the suitability of a physical activity intervention for first graders (children aged 6 and 7 years) in a public school in Santiago, Chile. Teachers were trained to deliver the programme in the classroom during the school day. Teachers were surveyed to determine if this intervention fit within their curriculum and classroom routines and they reported in a focus group that it was suitable for them. All children actively participated in the programme and positive changes in their attitudes towards physical activity were observed by their teachers. Anthropometrics, blood pressure and hand grip strength were measured in the students. A significant reduction was observed in children with high waist circumference ≥ 90th percentile, and in mean systolic blood pressure. However, statistical power values for those comparisons were rather low. Anthropometry and hand grip strength were not modified. The latter calculations and the lack of a control group are showing the weaknesses of this pilot study and that further research with a larger sample size and an experimental design is strongly needed.


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