The study involved 15 hospital rooms to determine if the greatest number of bacteria in a patient's room occur on the remote control. Samples were tested for total bacteria numbers, and of the 28 remotes, 20 had been used by multiple patients and 8 remotes were single-patient use.
The total average bacteria on sites in the hospital room were 91, compared to the average for the remote controls at 320. The sites tested included the hand rail, call button, tray table, door knob in/out, bath door out, faucet handle and flush handle.
Additionally, the study involved 20 samples of newly opened disposable remotes. In this case, the average total bacteria for the newly opened disposable remote controls were significantly less at 8.35.
According to a review published in the New England Journal of Medicine, infections acquired by patients in hospitals are estimated to affect 2 million people resulting in 90,000 deaths, annually. Patients with hospital-acquired infections spend an average of 14 days in the hospital compared to other patients and account for more than $9.5 billion in excess medical bills. Even more staggering was the detection of MRSA bacteria on television remote controls in patient hospital rooms. MRSA cannot be treated with antibiotics and is of major concern to hospital staff as a leading cause of hospital-acquired infection and death.
