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Clinical thermometers and cross infection in hospitals
Abstract
Cross-infection in hospitals, particularly in childrens' wards is always a serious hazard. The main sources of infection are patients, attendants and visitors.4 Infection may also be spread by non-human agencies such as thermometers, and instruments commonly used in examinations such as spatulas, stethoscopes and auriscopes. In studying the clinical thermometer as a possible source of cross-infection, several workers have investigated the antiseptic fluid in which the thermometer is kept. Rubenstein and Foley6 found that bacterial counts made on one of the thermometer fluids (I in 10,000 bichloride of mercury solution) revealed a bacterial population of 7 million viable orgamsms per C.C., the majority of which were Escherichia coli. Similarly, Green and Penfold3 found thermometer fluids (chiefly Glyc. thymol. co.) grossly contaminated with various pathogenic and non-pathogemc organisms. Both investigations were carried out in wards in which 'communal' thermometers were used, i.e. wards in wruch a few thermometers were shared by a group of patients. In the present investigations, attention was paid to the thermometer itself as a possible cause of infection, since culture of the thermometer ends which go into the patient's mouth or rectum should give a better estimate of bacterial contamination than culture of the antiseptic fluids.
