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Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) are a global concern as they affect millions of people worldwide. Poor hygiene practices and the use of microbial contaminated medical equipment by healthcare workers (HCWs) are common contributing factors to the development of HCAIs, which result in additional hospital costs, prolonged hospital stays, development of antibacterial resistance and increases in mortality and morbidity. Because Chiropractic students (CSs) at the Durban University of Technology Chiropractic Day Clinic (DUT CDC) make use of diagnostic equipment during their consultations with patients, this study aimed to determine if the stethoscopes and sphygmomanometers that were used in the DUT CDC served as reservoirs for bacterial growth, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and to correlate the findings with the hygiene practices of CSs and the efficacy of disinfectants. Method: This quantitative study comprised of two phases: a phase one pre-test post-test design and a phase two cross-sectional descriptive questionnaire design. Phase one required the collection of bacterial samples from the stethoscopes and sphygmomanometers of 29 CSs before and after performing the physical assessments on new patients (58 samples). These bacterial samples were incubated and analysed. The bacterial isolates were enumerated, identified and, where appropriate, tested for antibiotic-resistance. The modified AOAC use dilution method was used to test the efficacy of the selected disinfectants. Phase two required 29 CSs to complete the research questionnaire. The data were initially captured onto Excel spreadsheets and subsequently analysed using IBM SPSS version 24.0 (p-value   0.05) were identified between the mean CFU isolates from the CSs’ equipment and their reported average disinfection rate. Conclusions and recommendations: Both stethoscopes and sphygmomanometers were contaminated with non-pathogenic and potential pathogenic bacteria (some were resistant to multiple antibiotic classes). Although knowledgeable about equipment disinfection procedures, only 13.8% of the CSs reported disinfecting their pieces of equipment after examining every patient. The provision of adequate equipment disinfection education, the placement of visual reminders and accessible disinfectants will assist in improving the practice of adequate equipment disinfection. Moreover, equipment disinfection before and after every patient consultation will minimise cross- contamination and thus the risk of the development of HCAIs.

Investigation of diagnostic equipment as reservoirs for microbial growth and sources of microbial transfer, hygiene practices of students and efficacy of disinfectants