Jacksonville, Fla. – More than two million patients catch hospital-acquired infections every year in the United States, typically contracted after a 48-hour hospital stay. Shands Jacksonville is conducting a study of the SafeSEAL, a disposable soft diaphragm that kills harmful bacteria which contaminate traditional hard stethoscope diaphragms. The SafeSEAL, introduced by Doctors Research Group, could help reduce the number of hospital-acquired infections, reportedly costing nearly $5 billion a year.
William Bozeman, M.D., a University of Florida assistant professor of emergency medicine at Shands Jacksonville and director of research for the department, said hospital infections are a tremendous problem. “Previous research has shown that stethoscopes are a carrier of germs from one patient to another. It’s quite simple to understand that by touching the stethoscope to one patient and then a few minutes later touching the same stethoscope to a different patient you could potentially transfer germs.”
The SafeSEAL product is a soft stethoscope diaphragm that is disposable and is impregnated with a silver-based antimicrobial agent that is designed to kill germs. Shands Jacksonville is examining the bacterial counts found on the product itself within just a few minutes of removing it from the stethoscope, after it’s been used in a real-world clinical setting like the trauma center or emergency department.
“Since Shands Jacksonville is a large urban institution, we have a lot of patients that we’ll see within a short period of time, and so cleaning the stethoscope becomes difficult going from patient to patient, says Doug Kleiner, Ph.D., Shands emergency medicine associate director of research. “Anything we can do to reduce infection is of interest to us.”
The SafeSEAL also provides additional benefits. Shands emergency and trauma physicians using the product enjoy enhanced acoustics through an airtight seal that carries sound more effectively. According to Bozeman, some patients have noticed that the soft diaphragm feels softer and warmer to the touch, compared to the hard, cold metal or plastic chest piece traditionally used on stethoscopes. Additionally, SoftSEAL diaphragms come in an array of colors, which is helpful to Shands medical staff in terms of remembering to change out the stethoscope covers once a week.