Revista de SIDA e investigación clínica

Safe, Easy and Economic Assessment of Patients: A Case of Handmade Stethoscope in HIV Positive at Tertiary Level Hospital in North India

Abstract

Tanmay Tiwari, Subhash Dahiya, Vipin Dhama, Nidhi Pathak, Meenakshi Gaur and Sanjeev Kumar

Stethoscopes are essential tools of the medical profession and because of their universal use, might be a source of microorganisms that cause nosocomial infections. Stethoscopes come in direct contact with numerous patients daily and their disinfection after each use is not an established practice. Several studies in medical literature have demonstrated that many physicians’ stethoscopes are contaminated with pathogenic bacteria and could serve as a mode for transmission of infection. In view of contamination and spread of infection by the stethoscope, we have devised a handmade disposable stethoscope which is safe, easy and economical and can be specially used in HIV positive patients.