Doctors’ stethoscopes are dangerously filthy, putting patients in danger of staph and MRSA infections, a new study reveals.
And most are riddled with the kinds of bacteria that cause hospital-associated infections that cause 99,000 deaths a year in the US alone.
Researchers at University of Pennsylvania looked at just a few stethoscopes (40) used by doctors in the intensive care unit (ICU) at the institution’s medical center.