Bacterial contamination of mobile phones among health care workers: A meta-analysis study

Background Mobile phones (MPs) are becoming commonplace in both community and hospital settings. There are studies that show that phones can be considered fomites in potential, ones that give organisms an environment conducive to their development, such as constant heat and moisture. Aim The present study aimed to do a meta-analysis to investigate the bacterial contamination of MPs among health care workers (HCWs). Materials and methods Using MEDLINE database ( http://www.pubmed.com ), we conducted a systematic literature search to identify relevant studies published within the past 20 years (from 2000 up to 2020). Appropriate articles were accessed in full text to determine eligibility and extract data by two reviewers. Results A total of 18 articles were eligible to this study. Overall, 2300 HCWs were included in all studies. By forest plot test, 78% of HCWs' MPs were found to be contaminated by various types of organisms. The difference between HCWs and non-HCWs is not statistically significant regarding bacterial colonization of MPs. The prevalence of MP colonization by specific bacteria among HCWs was estimated. Coagulase-negative staphylococci were the most prevalent organism found in 50% of the tested HCWs, followed by Escherichia coli 12%, Staphylococcus aureus 11%, Klebsiella 10%, Enterobacter 10%, Proteus 8%, Pseudomonas 7%, Streptococci 7%, aerobic spores 5%, Enterobacter faecalis 2%, and Sphingomonas 2%. Conclusion MP contamination with different organisms is extremely common among HCWs, and resistance of these isolates to various antibiotics has also been detectable. The high level of contamination indicates that the MPs of these professionals may be serving as a reservoir and vehicle in the transmission of pathogenic agents both of hospital origin and community.