THE USE OF CELL PHONES AS A POTENTIAL TRANSMISSION ROUTE OF MICROORGANISMS BY HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN HOSPITALS: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Nosocomial infections are considered a public health issue. Such infections can originate from a range of microorganisms and many of these microorganisms can be resistant to antibiotics. The use of cellular devices can contribute considerably to the transmission and maintenance of these microorganisms in hospital environments, which represents an additional risk to hospitalized patients and to the health professionals. Thus, the aim of this study was to carry out an integrative review to observe the frequency of contamination from cell phones, as well as the frequency of the main agents found. METHODS: For that, a validated instrument from URSI was used to analyze the main articles used in the study, the articles were collected from the VHL, PubMed, LILACS, BDENF and Medline databases. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, we used 16 articles. RESULTS: A high frequency of the presence of bacteria, fungi and viruses has been identified. Among the most frequently found agents were Staphylococcus sp., Streptococcus sp., Bacilus sp., Acinetobacter sp., Klebsiella sp., Candida sp. Norovirus, among others. CONCLUSION: Most of the health professionals' cell phones were positive for at least one of these microorganisms, such frequent findings highlight the need to establish control measures and protocols in order to reduce the risk of nosocomial infection.