Use of Disposable Stethoscope Covers for Reduction of Stethoscope MRSA Contamination

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT03601741

Enrollment

Registered

2018-07-26

Start date

2018-06-08

Completion date

2019-04-05

Last updated

2019-09-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

MRSA

Brief summary

This is a prospective pilot study using a randomized, controlled, single blinded, crossover trial design, evaluating the effect of daily antimicrobial stethoscope diaphragm covers versus uncovered stethoscope. Stethoscopes will be cleaned Sani-cloth germicidal disposable wipes which are effective against MRSA. Each participant will then be randomly assigned to 7 days in either the intervention or the control arm. At the end of the 7 days participants stethoscopes will be cleaned again. This will be followed by another 7 days in the arm that they are not in during the first 7 days. The primary endpoint is MRSA colony count from stethoscope diaphragms cultures at 7 days, focusing on the difference between the intervention and the control periods. The secondary endpoint is the rate of hospital acquired MRSA infection in patients treated by residents during each period.

Interventions

OTHERDaily Antimicrobial Stethoscope Diaphragm Cover

Patients will receive package with instructions to use stethoscope cover, and are then instructed to switch in 7 days

OTHERUncovered Stethoscopes

Patients receive instruction to begin with no covers, and are then instructed to switch in 7 days

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

CROSSOVER

Primary purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Internal Medicine Residents

Exclusion criteria

* NA

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
MRSA colony count cultured from stethoscope diaphragms	7 Days	Total CFU of each selected pathogen at 7 days compared by paired Mann-Whitney U tests, with each patient serving as their own control

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Rate of hospital acquired MRSA infection in patients treated by participating residents	14 Days	Rates on nosocomial infection in each arm compared through use of Kaplan Meier curves

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026